Announcements of Opportunity

SURF@JPL: Announcements of Opportunity

Announcements of Opportunity are posted by JPL technical staff for the SURF@JPL program. Each AO indicates whether or not it is open to non-Caltech students. If an AO is NOT open to non-Caltech students, please DO NOT contact the mentor.

Announcements of Opportunity are posted as they are received. Please check back regularly for new AO submissions!

**Students applying for JPL projects should complete a SURF@JPL application instead of a "regular" SURF application.

**Students pursuing opportunities at JPL must be U.S. citizens or U.S. permanent residents.

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Project:

Additively Manufactured Heat Pipes

(JPL AO No. 13976)

Disciplines:

Mechanical Engineering, Materials science

Mentor:

Scott Roberts, (JPL), Scott.N.Roberts@jpl.nasa.gov, Phone: (818) 354-5175

Background:

Heat pipes are a crucial component of thermal management technologies for spacecraft. Due to the lack of an atmosphere, spacecraft rely entirely upon conduction or pumped fluid loops in order to move heat throughout their chassis. One method to greatly increase the rate of conduction is to bond heat pipes into the structure. These work well, but tend to offer a significant integration challenge, involve bond lines which decrease performance, and rely on suppliers delivering custom, flight critical parts in a timely manner. JPL has developed techniques to 3d print heat pipes fully integrated into structures as they are printed. This project will focus on designing more efficient evaporators to pull heat out of critical components.

Description:

The students involved in this task will create a series of different evaporator geometries to help us better understand the tradeoff between size, weight, and surface area. They will perform thermal testing and interpret data from the tests. They will provide recommendations on the most promising geometries, and what should be done to further refine their geometries.

References:

https://www.1-act.com/resources/heat-pipe-resources/faq/

Student Requirements:

Thermal analysis, CAD (solidworks, NX), basic laboratory skills

Location / Safety:

Project building and/or room locations: . Student will need special safety training: .

Programs:

This AO can be done under the following programs:

		Program	Available To
		SURF@JPL	both Caltech and non-Caltech students

Click on a program name for program info and application requirements.

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