Publications Details
Thermal environmental tests on space simulation chamber
Thermal testing of space payloads at Sandia National Laboratories is conducted in a large cylindrical (7.0 feet in diameter) vacuum chamber with temperature controlled walls. The payload is generally attached to a baseplate with independent temperature controls. To establish well-defined boundary conditions during the tests, uniform wall temperatures are desired in the test chamber. Thermal-vacuum tests were conducted on this space simulation chamber to determine if temperature gradients existed on the chamber shroud and end-bells. Recorded temperature measurements indicated large temperature gradients on the chamber shroud and end-bells. Furthermore, it was difficult to manually control the flow of liquid to the end-bells in order to achieve equal end-bell temperatures. However, results from these tests were used in a computer program developed to predict locations on the shroud and end-balls where a thermocouple would measure the best area-weighted average temperature. These measurements provide necessary boundary temperatures that can be used in a thermal model of a satellite payload. Results were obtained for different shroud and baseplate temperature settings. 8 figs., 5 tabs.