News – Euro Heat pipes

April 8, 2022April 8, 2022

EHP on board Juice

Euro Heat Pipes work is quoted in the newspaper “l’Echo” in an article dedicated to the space probe JUICE (JUpiter ICy moons Explorer) which will explore the icy moons of Jupiter named Ganymede, Europa and Callisto.

Credits to ESA for the illustration picture

We can be proud of our contribution to this space probe JUICE which is noteworthy in many ways:

This is the first time that an European probe will go so far in the solar sytem
Beyond providing the heat pipes for the probe, we have also performed dedicated studies & trials to assess the impact of the radiations (much harsher around Jupiter) on our products.
This probe will leave Earth in 2023 and will make an incredible trip to reach Jupiter:
- After leaving Earth,
- it will pass by Venus one year later,
- will come back close to Earth one year after,
- will reach Mars surroundings 6 months later,
- will come back close to Earth, one more time, one year after
- and will finally reach Jupiter moons 7 years after its lift-off

Why such a complicated journey ?

A tremendous amount of energy is required to reach the outer solar system. In order to cap the fuel quantity onboard, the probe will make several gravity-assist maneuvers (also called swing-by): by entering and leaving the gravitational sphere of influence of a planet, which is orbiting around the Sun, the probe will be able to accelerate (and also to change direction) with no fuel consumption.

Here is a short video showing this journey : 5 Gravity-Assist Flybys Will Get ESA’s JUICE To Jupiter | Video – YouTube

Subsidiary at 51% of Airbus since 2017, Euro Heat Pipes (EHP) company, based in Nivelles (Belgium), has delivered a set of 27 heat pipes (thermal control systems for spacecraft) which allow the transfer of the excess heat to cold areas of the spacecraft.

Full article on “l’Echo” website:
De la technologie belge pour scruter les lunes de Jupiter | L’Echo (lecho.be)

March 10, 2022March 11, 2022

Heat Pipes Development, Qualification and Industrialisation

EHP has completed its major TELECOM ARTES 4.0 project with ESA funds.

Objectives

The 3 mains goals of this ESA & EHP co-funded project are:

Achieve a major increase in terms of EHP heat pipes production capacity
Achieve a major decrease in terms of EHP heat pipes production cost
Develop & qualify a new heat pipe product (AG128) for OneWeb project

Challenges

Although heat pipes are well-known products at EHP since decades, its industrialisation (reliable and stable production of large volumes) remained undeveloped.

Improvement of manufacturing processes efficiency and beat rates were challenges.

heat pipe marking with 2D barcode — Example of EHP heat pipe with its marking

Benefits

Thanks to the increase of production during the last years, EHP is in a very good situation to propose products with a demonstrated reliability, produced within an existing production line, whose capacity has been demonstrated.

Features

Heat pipes allow to transport a significant amount of heat (typically 100 Watts) over a significant length (typically a few meters), within a negligible thermal gradient (typically a few degrees); which is thousands of times more efficient than thermal straps.

Example of a heat pipe batch during manufacturing

They are also very reliable as they have no moving parts, which is key for space industry.

Example of heat pipe during machining at EHP — Example of heat pipe during machining

System Architecture

Heat pipes are used at spacecraft level for their thermal control. They are mounted on panels or embedded into panels.Plan

Plan

Several phases of industrialization were defined and deployed within EHP workshop in order to implement gradually the updates.Current status

Current Status

Project is successfully completed.

This huge increase of the EHP deliveries transformed EHP into a major worldwide space heat pipes manufacturer.

This also permitted EHP:

To extend its marketshare in traditional sectors (European SatCom)
To reach new markets (US satellite manufacturers)

From a socio-economic point of view, deployed production line creates 11 full-time jobs at EHP (+ indirect jobs e.g. subco level)

Beyond the scope of this ESA project

Over the years, EHP has grown from a small 600m² facility to working areas spread over 3 buildings for a total of 4500m².
This is not enough for the activities forecasted in the next years With the major OneSat project arriving, and with our heat pipe production continuing to grow, EHP needs much more space.

In 2019, the idea of a new modern building was put on the table. Two years later, in May 2021, the work of a brand new 10 000m² facility has begun

New infrastructure consists of 8000m² of industrial areas, including a 2000m² clean room for the assembly of our thermal and deployable systems. Additionally, it includes a nice 2000m² office building that will offer a well-being working environment to all of us.

The first part of the project, the industrial hall and half of the clean room, are to be delivered in the beginning of 2022. The offices and the rest of the clean room are to be available 6 months later, and the final industrial areas for machining and logistics in the beginning of 2023.

Source :https://artes.esa.int/projects/heat-pipes-development-qualification-and-industrialisation

December 15, 2021December 16, 2021

SVOM instruments puzzle is finalized

MXT and ECLAIRs instrument for Franco-Chinese satellite SVOM have finalized their assembly at CNES TOULOUSE. They are now ready to undergo its testing phase – a complete torture phase for space components.

ECLAIRs instrument fully integrated which aims to detect and study gamma ray bursts in gamma-ray domain. Credits : CNES/FG.

The MXT instrument, assembled, one of the 4 instruments of the Franco Chinese SVOM satellite which aims to localize and study gamma ray bursts in X-ray domain. .

*Photos Photo credits : CNES/DE PRADA Thierry, 2021*

« Every element of the instruments, whether it is MXT or the ECLAIRs telescope have been manufactured by industrials and laboratories in France or in Europe” explains François Gonzalez, Project Manager SVOM. “They arrived at CNES in loose parts, and we had to be assembled .

Instruments’ cameras and radiators have been integrated this 2021 summer in the CNES clean rooms (see photos) . they are now ready to leave for space with expected performances validated.

Torture phase :

The 2 « assembled » instruments have performed a complete testing campaign (from June to October 2021 ) which validate their good performance, but mostly their resistance to extreme conditions which are expected during the lift off and in space. Vibration and shock tests, electromagnetic compatibility, thermal vacuum tests as well : for 3 to 4 weeks, 24h/24.

MXT and ECLAIRs have been submitted to temperature variations within a range of -60°C & +50°C. “A critical phase, which will be controlled permanently by CNES specialists”.

Beginning of 2022, MXT & ECLAIRs instruments will be sent to China where they will be installed on the SVOM Satellite for lift-off planned mid 2023.

Avoid « Heat Strokes »

Among others to function correctly, MXT detector , at the heart of the instrument, must be maintained at -65°C precisely for an optimal performance. The instrument will be capable of regulating its own temperature even though the satellite, in space, will be subject to extreme temperature variations between -150°C and +150°C. The architecture of the instrument itself allow to control its temperature at its core with Thermal Electrical Coolers piloted by an onboard software and with Propylene Heat Pipes (aluminums profiles filled with an inert gas) transfer the excessive heat to a radiator and evacuate it to space.

ECLAIRs instrument uses also a heat pipes network in order to maintain its 6400 detectors fixed at the focal plane at -20°C and transfer the heat to space with a large aluminum radiator.

Euro Heat Pipes with its Airbus Defense & Space partner were responsible for the Design & Manufacturing of both MXT & ECLAIRs radiator and thermal bus sub-assemblies which participate at the good function and performance of the instrument optics.

Copyright CNES – Source : https://spacegate.cnes.fr/fr/quezako-le-puzzle-est-termine

Translation by Alexandre van Haute / Karine Mercier

December 2, 2021December 17, 2021

Euro heat pipes (EHP) on-board of SES-17 satellite

The SES-17 satellite was successfully launched into space onboard an Ariane 5 launcher operated by Arianespace from the Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou on October 23^rd 2021.

Built by Thales Alenia Space, SES-17 marks an important milestone in satellite technology as the first Ka-band geostationary satellite to embark a fully digital payload powered the most powerful digital transparent processor (DTP) ever placed in orbit.

This satellite is equipped with the first ever Mechanically pumped Loop (MPL) to be mounted on a telecommunication satellite!

The MPL is made of a network of pipes and a mechanical pump, which circulates a refrigerant fluid to collect heat wherever it is created and transport it to the radiators. This makes it possible to maximise use of the available surface inside the satellite, to accommodate the repeaters required for large Very High Throughput Satellite missions.

EHP is proud to have contributed to the development and to have supplied this new generation of heat exchangers.

Sources:

https://www.thalesgroup.com/fr/monde/espace/news/le-satellite-ses-17-arrive-guyane-francaise

https://www.ses.com/press-release/ses-17-successfully-launched-ariane-5

http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Telecommunications_Integrated_Applications/Very_High_Throughput_Satellite_ready_to_pump_heat

October 13, 2021October 13, 2021

Euro Heat Pipes (EHP) on-board of the 11th OneWeb launch

OneWeb Launch #11 (Flight ST36) is scheduled to depart 14 October at 6:40pm local time (5:40am ET / 9:40am UTC), with 36 satellites on board and marks one of the most exciting advances yet for OneWeb’s global communications network.

The launch will take place from the Vostochny Cosmodrome and will be conducted by Arianespace. You can view the Launch #11 event live on the website OneWeb.net, or @oneweb – Youtube.

Each of these satellites includes several EHP heat pipes, designed & manufactured within our premises in Nivelles, Belgium.

Our fully-passive heat pipes, equipped with a capillary structure and filled with high-purity ammonia, are a key part of the satellite thermal control.

The dual phase system enables the satellite & the payload to remain within a limited temperature range, despite the very harsh space environment.

Video of the launch preparation activities: https://youtu.be/miBoIVQqSPw

Pictures of the launch preparation activities:

La grappe de satellites OneWeb accrochés à leur dispensaire.

Credits for pictures & video to the full article : https://kosmosnews.fr/2021/10/06/lancement-oneweb-l11-les-satellites-encapsules-a-vostochny/

July 27, 2021October 27, 2021

OneWeb : Mission accomplished !

[In French below]

OneWeb : Mission accomplished !

In 2016, the OneWeb project started a new era for EHP with the manufacturing of several thousands of heat pipes within a timeframe of a few years.

In July 2021, 5 years later, EHP celebrated the last shipment of this contract. Mission accomplished!

– the several thousands of heat pipes have been manufactured and 40% of them are already in orbit.

– heat pipes production at EHP has been transformed: while around 100 items were manufactured on a yearly basis before the OneWeb project, yearly production reached 3000 items. This high level of production is ensured for the next years through new contracts.

– new infrastructure have been developed and a new factory is under construction.

– EHP became one of the world leaders of space-application heat pipes and has significantly increased its market share.

Regarding the OneWeb constellation:

OneWeb is a constellation of 648 telecommunication satellites orbiting in low earth orbit (1200 km) to supply from 2022 onwards a high-speed internet for private and commercial customers in non-land serviced regions.

See https://www.oneweb.world

OneWeb : Mission accomplie !

En 2016 commençait une nouvelle page pour EHP avec le lancement du projet OneWeb, pour la fabrication de milliers de caloducs en quelques années.

En juillet 2021, 5 ans plus tard, EHP célèbre la dernière livraison du contrat. Mission accomplie !

– les milliers de caloducs ont été fabriqués et livrés et 40% d’entre eux sont déjà en vol.

– la production de caloducs chez EHP a été industrialisée, en passant d’environ 100 caloducs par an avant 2015, à 3000 caloducs par an aujourd’hui. Ce niveau de production est assuré pour les années à venir via de nouveaux contrats.

– de nouvelles infrastructures ont été développées et une nouvelle usine est en cours de construction.

– EHP est devenu un des leaders mondiaux de la production de caloducs pour l’industrie spatiale et a su accroitre considérablement ses parts de marché.

Concernant la constellation OneWeb :

OneWeb est une constellation de 648 satellites de télécommunications circulant sur une orbite basse (1200 km) pour fournir aux particuliers et aux entreprises, à partir de 2022, un accès Internet à haut débit via satellite, en particulier dans les régions non desservies par des liaisons terrestres.

Voir https://www.oneweb.world

Photos : Cedric MURI https://www.instagram.com/cedricmuri/

June 29, 2021October 13, 2021

Euro Heat Pipes on its way to the North Pole!

Source : https://www.oneweb.world/assets/news/media/Small-OW-1223_8-Launch8-HELLO-press-image-210x297mm-AW01.jpg

What:

OneWeb, the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite communications company, will launch 36 satellites (EHP Heat Pipes onboard) on Thursday, 1 July 2021, marking the completion of its ‘Five to 50’ ambition enabling connectivity services for the first time to the 50^th parallel and above by the year end.

Each of these satellites includes a set of several heat pipes manufactured by Euro Heat Pipes in Belgium. This new launch will bring the total number of in-flight satellites to 254.

Service demonstrations will begin this summer in several key locations – including Alaska and Canada – as OneWeb prepares for full commercial service in these regions in the next six months. Offering enterprise grade connectivity services, the company has already announced distribution partnerships across several industries including with ROCK Networks, AST Group, PDI, Alaska Communications and others, as OneWeb expands its global capabilities. The company continues to engage with telecommunications providers, ISPs, governments and more worldwide to offer its low latency, high speed connectivity services and sees growing demand for new connectivity services to connect the hardest to reach places.

Why:

This launch adds another 36 satellites to OneWeb’s 648 LEO satellite fleet that will deliver global connectivity and represents 100 percent of the satellites required to enable its solution to reach all regions north of 50 degrees latitude.

This launch will enable OneWeb to offer full connectivity services across the United Kingdom, Alaska, Northern Europe, Greenland, Iceland, continental U.S., the Arctic Seas and Canada. Commercial service is expected to be rolled out before the end of the year, and OneWeb intends to make global service available in 2022.

To mark the fifth and final launch of ‘Five to 50’, with all satellites delivered on time, a welcome message “Hello North Pole” is branded on the rocket, reflecting the significant progress OneWeb has made to secure its Arctic coverage.

Why the Arctic?

https://www.oneweb.world/assets/news/media/OneWeb-ArcticRoundableWhitepaper.pdf

When:

The launch is scheduled to take place on 1 July 2021 at 13:48 BST / 8:48 AM ET / 4:48 AM Alaska / 12:48:33 UTC / 9:48 Vostochny.

Where:

The launch will take place from the Vostochny Cosmodrome and will be conducted by Arianespace.

How to watch:

Livestream available on the following channels with programming beginning at 13:30 BST/8:30 ET/ 12:30 UTC.

OneWeb Website: www.oneweb.net

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/OneWebofficial/videos

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/onewebofficial/live/

June 28, 2021July 6, 2021

Construction of ‘New EHP’

2021 will remain a particular year for EHP…

Besides celebrating the 20 years of EHP, this year also marks the beginning of the ‘new EHP’ !

Over the years, EHP has grown from a small 600m² facility to working areas spread over 4 buildings for a total of 4500m².

Enough ? Not at all ! With the major OneSat project arriving, and with our heat pipe production continuing to double every year, EHP needs much more space.

In 2019, the idea of a new modern building was put on the table. Two years later, in May 2021, the work of a brand new 10 000m² facility has begun !

By the beginning of 2023, EHP will have close to 8000m² of industrial areas, including a 2000m² clean room for the assembly of our thermal and deployable systems. Our teams will also be reassembled together in a nice 2000m² office building that will offer a well-being working environment to all of us.

The first part of the project, the industrial hall and half of the clean room, should be delivered in the beginning of 2022. The offices and the rest of the clean room should be available 6 months later, and the final industrial areas for machining and logistics will close the project in the beginning of 2023.

With these new facilities, EHP is now ready for the next 20 years !

May 31, 2021

Novel system de-ices aircraft using engine heat

Most aircraft de-icing systems have to generate power for the heaters. A new alternative efficiently draws heat from the engines.

The formation of ice on aircraft is both commonplace and dangerous. An ice layer on wings and control surfaces can change their shape, potentially affecting the pilot’s control of the aircraft. Ice also adds weight.

Under certain conditions, usually at fairly low altitudes, so-called icing-clouds can contain droplets of water that remain liquid despite their temperature being below freezing. Upon contact with any solid surface, the droplets instantaneously freeze onto the surface. A thick ice layer can form in just seconds. This can be extremely dangerous for small aircraft, which must avoid such clouds completely. Larger aircraft carry de-icing systems.

The main types heat the wing and the engine air intake, via either electric elements or a hot-air system. Although such systems work reliably, they are very energy-hungry, consuming up to 40 % of the total power the aircraft produces. Any reduction in energy consumption would mean significant financial savings for the aircraft operator.

Putting waste heat to use

The EU-funded PIPS project developed a new kind of heating system. Instead of generating heat at great cost, the system transfers waste heat from the engines to the engine air intake. Thus it is highly efficient. The system is initially intended for the air-intake part of medium-sized turboprop aircraft.

However, it could eventually be adapted to any aircraft having hot engines near the wings, meaning virtually any aircraft. The patent-pending system is called Capillary Pumped Loop. “This is a closed circuit in which circulates a fluid – methanol – which is always at saturation,” explains project coordinator, Romain Rioboo. “That means it’s always around the point of phase change between liquid and vapour.”

The engine supplies heat to the evaporator, which evaporates the liquid. Gaseous methanol circulates to the condenser, where it returns to liquid, releasing heat. The liquid circles back to the evaporator via a capillary wick, which is a passive pump. The physics of the phase change between liquid and gas means that the liquid can absorb and transport a large amount of heat.

So the system is very efficient, using engine heat that would otherwise be wasted. This saves having to generate large amounts of heat as in conventional de-icing systems.

Good progress so far

The project has achieved technology readiness level 5. The concept has been demonstrated, but the technology still needs some refinement. Researchers initially planned to use off-the-shelf components. However, problems encountered along the way required design of a completely new system.

This was successful but caused delays. “We have yet to change the condenser design to improve heat distribution on the surface of the engine intake,” adds Rioboo, “and test the change before envisaging flight tests.” However, in laboratory and icing wind tunnel testing, the project achieved effective heat transfer in a full-size model engine setup and transported up to 10 kilowatts of heat under icing conditions.

This exceeds the requirements for a de-icing system. Further development is uncertain. If that takes place, the outcome will be a cheap and efficient aircraft de-icing solution.

Keywords

PIPS, aircraft, de-icing, system, heat-exchange, Capillary Pumped Loop, methanol

Source : https://cordis.europa.eu/article/id/430114-novel-system-de-ices-aircraft-using-engine-heat?WT.mc_id=exp

March 30, 2021March 30, 2021

20 years in space !

EHP is celebrating its 20th Anniversary !

Based on SABCA’s Two-phase departement and the impulse of Pr. Jean-Claude Legros of the Université Libre de Bruxelles, EHP’s was born on the 30th of March 2001 with the vision to conquer the enormous potential of Two-Phase technology in space applications.

With the addition of more than 20 years of SABCA’s knowledge and heritage, EHP boasts at least 40 years of experience and expertise.

Today, as a subsidiairy of Airbus Defence & Space and the support of the SRIW and SOGEPA, EHP is the European leader for the delivery of cooling solutions for space applications.

With its EN9100 certification and decidated in house facilities, we have expanded the product porfolio to 3 major product branches :

Heat pipes (CCHP & VCHP)
Thermal Systems (using loop heat pipes)
Deployable Systems

In its 20 years of history, EHP has grown to become in 2021 a company employing close to 100 highly skilled people.

In the next year, we hope to share with you a piece of this history with a monthly bulletin.

And of course, we will be rocking our new logo until March 2022 !