Graphene-enabled thermal radiators for small satellites

愿景：基于石墨烯光电子专利技术，为小型卫星开发动态热调节系统。创新：卫星在阳光下经历快速交替的极热，在地球阴影下经历极冷，在此期间，吸收的热量和内部产生的热量不断变化。当前的调节系统平衡吸收/产生的热量与排出的热量，例如加热器，消耗大量的功率（约总功率的5-20%）。该项目旨在采用石墨烯专利技术，可以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控制热辐射; 2）克服现有热调节系统及其功耗的局限性。聚焦：SmartIR成立于2020年，旨在将曼彻斯特大学发现的突破性专利石墨烯光电子技术商业化。项目的主要成果将是一个可随时集成到小型卫星上的原型动态辐射器。目标：优化石墨烯自适应隔热瓦的制造，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，从而能够以更高的功率放大率设计和操作新的有效载荷，因此减少了卫星的热功耗。该技术可以很容易地扩大规模，用于更大的航天器应用，与现有的热管理系统相比，重量轻的特点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.