Titles:

• Coatings for Solar Absorber Applications in Low Earth Orbit  November 2001
   
• Modeling Heat Flow in a Calorimeter Equipped With a Textured Solar Collector  August 2001

Jaworske, D. A., and Hornacek, J., “Coatings for Solar Absorber Applications in Low Earth Orbit,” prepared for the 33rd International SAMPE Technical Conference, Seattle, WA, pp 1573-1580, November 2001.

Mixed coatings containing both metal and dielectric materials can be used to tailor the optical properties of surfaces. For some space power applications, there is an interest in collecting solar energy for use in heat engines or for routing heat to remote regions of a spacecraft. The solar collector envisioned for use in these applications must have a high solar absorptance to absorb as much solar energy as possible, and a low infrared emittance to minimize energy loss. Research on solar selective coatings has progressed from coatings deposited electrochemically to coatings deposited by sputter deposition. Current research is addressing the development of cermet coatings that are durable in the low Earth orbit space environment. This paper describes past and present work on solar selective coatings, and the prospects of utilizing such coatings in low Earth orbit applications.

Heat engines are being considered for generating electric power for minisatellite applications, particularly for those missions in high radiation threat orbits. To achieve this objective, solar energy must be collected and transported to the hot side of the heat engine. A solar collector is needed having the combined properties of high solar absorptance, low infrared emittance, and high thermal conductivity. To test candidate solar collector concepts, a simple calorimeter was designed, manufactured, and installed in a bench top vacuum chamber to measure heat flow. In addition, a finite element analysis model of the collector/calorimeter combination was made to model this heat flow. The model was tuned based on observations from the as-manufactured collector/calorimeter combination. In addition, the model was exercised to examine other collector concepts, properties, and scale up issues.
 

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