What is it about?
This work presents an experimental setup and analysis for a phase-change material unit to be used as thermal control on a CubeSat. It presents performance metrics for this unit in spacelike conditions, and the impact of thermal enhancements (aluminum foams) on that performance, quantifying the improvements they provide. The work is part of the University of Maryland chapter of the Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS@UMD), and is part of R&D for a student-built CubeSat.
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Why is it important?
Our experimental setup and application is thorough and low-budget, allowing effective gauging of thermal capabilities without extensive effort. The detail of the setup allows comprehensive understanding of thermal behavior of the PCM unit, including rigorous analyses of temperature gradients, energy absorption, and heat flow paths that can be used both in spacecraft design and model verification. Finally, we quantify experimentally the significant improvement created by the use of aluminum foams as thermal enhancements, expanding on much existing model-only work.
Perspectives
This is an entirely undergraduate-led paper, and I hope it will contribute greatly to future CubeSat R&D for SEDS@UMD.
Pranav Narayan
University of Maryland at College Park
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Design Optimization and Experimental Analysis of Heat Flow in a CubeSat PCM Thermal Control Unit, January 2026, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA),
DOI: 10.2514/6.2026-2268.
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