SINOPSIS

The small capillary pumped loop (CPL) has great application potentials in thermal management of microsatellite and electronic devices because of its unique performance of high efficiency, isothermal and lightweight feature. This paper is aimed at development and experimental investigation of operational characteristics of a small CPL. The experimental studies include different cases such as thermal behaviors of the small CPL corresponding to the start-up, abrupt variation of the heat load, frequent shut-down and start-up re-start, and frequent adjustment of the set-point temperature of the reservoir under the antigravity condition. The temperature oscillation phenomena are also studied. Through the experimental data, the main factors of affecting thermal feature of the small CPL are discussed and the possible approaches of improving the operating performance of the small CPL are suggested.