Effect of beta angle and contact conductances on the temperature distribution of a 3U CubeSat

摘要: Contact conductances are a significant factor in the thermal analysis aimed at assuring safe on-orbit temperatures for a nanosatellite. In this work, the effect of the thermal contact conductances and the β angle on the temperature of the components of a realistic 3U CubeSat model is investigated theoretically. As part of the explanation of the methodology used, Python scripts are provided that compute the temperature of a simplified multinodal model. When β= 0°, the subsystems of the realistic satellite model present temperatures within their operating ranges for contact conductance variations spanning an order of magnitude. Reduction of the contact conductances yields dissimilar effects on the internal and external components: the amplitudes and average values of the temperature oscillation of external components, like the solar cells, increase; in contrast, the oscillation amplitudes of internal components …