Optimum design of space radiators with temperature-dependent thermal conductivity

Radiating extended surfaces are widely used to enhance heat transfer between primary surface and the environment. The performance of such a surface is significantly affected by variable thermal conductivity, particularly in the case of large temperature differences. In this paper, the Adomian decomposition method is used to evaluate the efficiency of a radiating rectangular fin with variable thermal conductivity. Because the resulting complicated fin efficiency expression is not convenient for further optimization calculations, the data from the present solutions is correlated for a suitable range of problem parameters. The correlation equations are used to find the optimum dimensions of space radiators which maximize the heat transfer rate per unit radiator mass. The optimization results are conveniently represented as two identical correlation equations for calculating the optimum dimensions.