Artificial satellite heat pipe design using harmony search

Abstract

The design of an artificial satellite requires an optimization of multiple objectives with respect to performance, reliability, and weight. In order to consider these objectives simultaneously, multi-objective optimization technique can be considered. In this chapter, a multi-objective method considering both thermal conductance and heat pipe mass is explained for the design of a satellite heat pipe. This method has two steps: at first, each single objective function is optimized; then multi-objective function, which is the sum of individual error between current function value and optimal value in terms of single objective, is minimized. Here, the multi-objective function, representing thermal conductance and heat pipe mass, has five design parameters such as 1) length of conduction fin, 2) cutting length of adhesive attached area, 3) thickness of fin, 4) adhesive thickness, and 5) operation temperature of the heat pipe. Study results showed that the approach using harmony search found better solution than traditional calculus-based algorithm, BFGS. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2016.