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Post by Rocket Witch on Nov 23, 2017 12:51:10 GMT
Can the hull itself be used as a low-grade auxiliary radiator for the habitat module? Also, I've been thinking about fin-shaped radiators that can fold up like fans, though they'd likely need to be quite flexible in order to do so. I think so. Just have coolant pipes running up to and along the surface of the hull for some distance, potentially safe under the armour. The human body can get rid of quite a lot of heat through blood vessels close to the skin before the need to sweat arises ("a lot" in the context of our two-digit temp gradient, at least), and a spacecraft without great cooling needs and spare surface area could do the same.
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Post by shiolle on Nov 23, 2017 13:04:00 GMT
Just have coolant pipes running up to and along the surface of the hull for some distance, potentially safe under the armour. A note about armor in this context. The armor above the pipes should conduct heat relatively well. If it doesn't, you will lose your temperature gradient before the exterior is hot enough to radiate sufficient amount of energy.
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Post by matterbeam on Nov 24, 2017 11:27:18 GMT
Using the hull as a radiator:
The properties which make a good hull make for a poor radiator. For one, it has to be thick, to shield against radiation. This means it has an extremely poor thermal conductivity and heat will not efficiently reach the radiating surface. Second, it is reflective. This it to prevent being heated by sunlight at over 1kW/m^2. A radiator with poor emissivity releases very little heat as thermal radiation.
If you are in a warship, it gets worse. The hull is even thicker, due to armor, has even less thermal conductivity, to prevent lasers from melting through, and whipple shields create vacuum gaps that massively slow down thermal radiations from reaching space.
Your best option is to use a heatsink such as water. The pipes won't have to be big, and there is no danger if there's a cooling system accident. Plus, it has a good heat capacity, so you can increase or reduce the amount of heat inside the habitats without having to immediately respond with an increase or decrease in the water being supplies. Run the water through a radiator, or just mix it with your propellant tank water.
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Post by The Astronomer on Nov 26, 2017 2:36:12 GMT
Using the hull as a radiator: The properties which make a good hull make for a poor radiator. For one, it has to be thick, to shield against radiation. This means it has an extremely poor thermal conductivity and heat will not efficiently reach the radiating surface. Second, it is reflective. This it to prevent being heated by sunlight at over 1kW/m^2. A radiator with poor emissivity releases very little heat as thermal radiation. If you are in a warship, it gets worse. The hull is even thicker, due to armor, has even less thermal conductivity, to prevent lasers from melting through, and whipple shields create vacuum gaps that massively slow down thermal radiations from reaching space. Your best option is to use a heatsink such as water. The pipes won't have to be big, and there is no danger if there's a cooling system accident. Plus, it has a good heat capacity, so you can increase or reduce the amount of heat inside the habitats without having to immediately respond with an increase or decrease in the water being supplies. Run the water through a radiator, or just mix it with your propellant tank water. Plus, water can shield you against radiation.
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