Thermal management system

• Main Authors: BARNICH François, KLAUS Julian, DE CASTRO Olivier, HISSLER Christophe, LOPEZ DIAS Veneranda, PFISTER Laurent, HOANG Hung Quang
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 30.05.2022
• Subjects: BLASTING; CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL LABORATORY APPARATUS FOR GENERAL USE; COLD ROOMS; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; COOLING OR FREEZING APPARATUS NOT COVERED BY ANY OTHERSUBCLASS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; HEATING; ICE-BOXES; INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIRCHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES; LIGHTING; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; MEASURING; MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL; PHYSICS; REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; REFRIGERATORS; TESTING; TRANSPORTING; WEAPONS

The invention relates to a thermal management system (1) comprising: a thermal source (2, 4) of low to cryogenic temperature; a heating element (16) for heating the source (2, 4); a shield (6) adapted to exchange heat by conduction to/from a sample (8) and to/from the source (2, 4); a controller (24) calibrated for maintaining a gradient of temperature along the shield (6) within a pre-determined range; a vacuum sealing feedthrough comprising a thermal insulator element (12), the vacuum sealing feedthrough delimiting around the first interface a vacuum sealed volume (14) so that the shield (6) exchanges heat with the thermal source (2, 4) exclusively by conduction and exclusively at a first interface (6.11). The preferred purpose for this thermal management system is the sublimation of water ice and/or water ice trapped in a regolith, and positioned in a vacuum chamber. The heat insulator element (12) is configured to separate physically the thermal source (2, 4) from a vacuum chamber into which the shield (6) may protrude, so that sublimated compounds from the sample do not encounter colder point which would cause their deposition on the shield or on the walls of the chamber.