HIGH POROSITY OPEN-CELL METAL FOAM AS POTENTIAL CANDIDATE FOR SPACE CRYOGENIC RADIATOR

Passive cryogenic radiators are inherent functional devices of the thermal cooling systems in space vehicles. The present article suggests the inclusion of high porosity open-cell metal foams, a recent addition to lightweight materials, as likely candidates for passive radiator surfaces. Porous nature of metal foam allows penetration of thermal radiation within few layers from its surface. Aluminium 10 PPI foam having 90.8 % porosity has been studied in this work. A three-dimensional topographical image of the actual foam sample has been obtained from X-ray Micro-Computed Tomography scanning. Representative section of this three-dimensional morphology is then employed to simulate ray tracing computationally using COMSOL Multiphysics software. Furthermore, cool down of this porous foam under the effect of radiative heat transfer subjected to space-like conditions has been determined.