Thermal control performance of phase change material combined with ultra-light hollow metallic microlattice for microsatellites

Phase change materials (PCMs) have been utilized to realize the passive thermal control of the large spacecrafts. To date, there have been few reports on the use of PCMs for the development of thermal control systems in microsatellites with small size and lightweight. Herein, we report a method of the fabrication of the microlattice phase change material (MPCM), which is a lightweight heat storage material using a combination of PCMs and hollow metallic microlattice materials. The thermal control performance of the MPCM is studied using a com-bination of theoretical analysis, experimental tests and numerical simulations. Parametric analysis reveals that the thermal control performance of MPCM is quite sensitive to the micro-structure of the microlattice. The equivalent heat flux is determined to realize the homogenization of the thermal properties of MPCM. Results obtained from the numerical simulation results reveal that as the macroscopic dimensions of MPCM are 10.3 cm x 10.3 cm x 1.9 cm with the weight of 59.4 g, the microsatellite can be operated over a period of 10000 s at temperatures <= 35 degrees C under conditions of heat load cycles and the temperature range can be controlled within 10.3 celcius. The properties of the developed MPCM can be tuned, and the material can be efficiently used to realize the thermal control of microsatellites.