Graphene-enabled thermal radiators for small satellites

愿景：开发基于石墨烯光电专利技术的小卫星动态热调节系统。创新：卫星在阳光下经历极热和地球阴影下极冷的快速交替，其间吸收的热量和内部产生的热量不断变化。目前的调节系统平衡吸收/产生的热量与排出的热量，如加热器，消耗大量的电力（约占总功率的5-20%）。本项目旨在采用石墨烯专利技术，通过微小的电信号改变其热辐射，用于小卫星的动态热调节。该技术将具有以下特点：重量轻、功耗低、工作电压小、热辐射调制量大。该项目的创新之处在于：1)利用石墨烯及其可调光电特性来控制热辐射；2)克服现有热调节系统及其功耗的限制。重点：SmartIR成立于2020年，旨在将曼彻斯特大学发现的一项突破性和专利石墨烯光电子技术商业化。该项目的主要成果将是准备集成到小型卫星上的动态辐射器原型。目的：优化石墨烯自适应热砖（ATT）的制造，使其与空间应用兼容。一个原型钻机。准备在太空中进行测试。影响：由于能够动态控制卫星表面的光学特性，使新的有效载荷设计和操作具有更高的功率调节，从而减少了卫星的热功率消耗。该技术可以很容易地扩展到更大的航天器应用中，与现有的热管理系统相比，该技术的轻量化特性可以通过减少有效载荷来节省发射成本。

Vision: Development of a dynamic thermal regulation system for small satellites based on patented graphene optoelectronics technology.Innovation: Satellites experience rapidly alternating extreme heat under sunlight and extreme cold in earth's shadow during which the absorbed and internally generated heat change constantly. The current regulation systems balance the absorbed/generated heat with vented heat, such as heaters, consume a significative amount of power (~5-20% of total power). This project aims to adopt a patented graphene technology that can change its thermal radiation with small electric signals for dynamic thermal regulation of small satellites. The technology will have the following features: lightweight, low-power consumption, small-voltage operation, and large thermal radiation modulation. The innovative aspects of the project are 1) the use of graphene and its tunable optoelectronic properties for controlling thermal radiation, 2) overcoming the limitations of the existing thermal regulation systems and their power consumption.Focus: SmartIR was founded in 2020 to commercialize a breakthrough and patented graphene optoelectronics technology discovered at the University of Manchester. The main project outcome will be a prototype dynamic radiator ready-to-be-integrated onto small satellites.Objectives: Optimizing the fabrication of graphene adaptive thermal tiles (ATT) to be compatible for space applications. A prototype rig. that is ready to be tested in space.1\. Impact: Reduction of satellites heat power consumption thanks to the ability to control dynamically the optical properties of the satellite\`s surface enabling new payloads design and operation with higher power accommodation.2\. The technology can easily be scaled up for larger spacecraft applications, where the lightweight feature in contrast to existing thermal management systems, could generate launch cost-savings from a reduced payload.