Phase change heat accumulators are essential devices for the thermal management of multiple ignition, electric pump driven in-space propulsion systems such as the Low Cost Cryogenic Propulsion (LCCP) system [1], [2]. For Low Temperature Accumulators (LTAs), water/ice is of special interest as phase change material because of its high heat capacity and high latent heat. Therefore, an analysis of the phase change behaviour of both, this heat storage material and an heat transfer medium were performed in the framework of the ISP1 project [2], [3]. In the experiments shown in the current paper, gaseous nitrogen at 80°C is injected to the inlet of the heat transfer tube. By passing through the heat transfer tube, it causes the heat storage medium ice to melt and the hot nitrogen is cooled down. The phase change behaviour of the phase change material ice and the heat transfer process from nitrogen to the ice were analysed experimentally in a qualitative and a quantitative way. Finally, the obtained experimental results are compared to the analysis results of theoretical phase-change models carried out by the ISP-1 partner institution UPC [7], [8], [9].

Peer Reviewed