Thermal Robustness and Mass Optimization of Heat Pipe Shape for Spacecraft Panel Using a Combination of Response Surface Methodology and Monte Carlo Simulation

A commercial spacecraft should survive on orbit for more than 10 years under the severe circumstances without any maintenance. To realize this subject, not only performance but also other design factors such as reliability, mass, robustness, cost, etc. should be taken into consideration. From point of the thermal design, it is very important to obtain the robust thermal control subsystem with matrix heat pipe layout while minimizing the mass (weight). A new thermal optimization method without compromising the thermal robustness and the mass of thermal subsystem is highly anticipated. This paper proposes a robust thermal design approach for optimizing the heat pipe shape to minimize the mass of the spacecraft panel. We apply a combination of Design of Experiments (DOE), Response Surface Methodology (RSM) and Monte Carlo Simulation to determine the robust design parameters that minimize the mass of the heat pipe structure. Dimensions of the heat pipe design parameters were determined with rationally in a short time and practical robust optimization method was established.