• Journal of Aerospace System Engineering
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.66-72
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• 2019

The observation satellites which uses high heat-dissipating equipment such as synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites require a radiator to transmit heat from the equipment into outer space. However, during cold conditions it requires a heater to maintain the temperature of equipment within the allowable minimum limit when it is not in operation. In this study, we proposed a variable conductivity radiator that changes its thermal conductivity value through movement of the liquid metal between two reservoirs based on the temperature condition. This reduces the power consumption of the heater by limiting heat transfer path to the radiator in cold condition, while effectively transferring heat to the radiator during hot condition. The feasibility of the proposed radiator was validated through comparison of the thermal control performance with the conventional fixed conductivity radiator via a thermal analysis.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Military Science and Technology
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.246-251
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• 2023

RADAR(Radio Detection and Ranging) is an important system for surveillance and reconnaissance by detecting a reflected signal which obtains the range from the radar to the target, and the velocity of the target. The magnitude of the reflected signal varies due to the radar cross section of the target, characteristic of the transmission and reception antenna, distance between the radar and the target, and power and wavelength of the transmitted signal. Thus, the RCS is the important characteristic of the target to determine if the target can be observed by the RADAR system. It is based on the material and shape of the target. We have measured the reflection signal of a simple square-shaped (20 × 20 cm) target made of a new material, a gallium-based liquid metal alloy and compared that of well-known metals including copper, aluminum. The magnitude of reflected signal of the aluminum target was the largest and it was 2.4 times larger than that of the liquid metal target. We also investigated the effect of the shape by measuring reflectance of the F-22 3D model(~1/95 ratio) target covered with/without copper, aluminium, and liquid metal. The largest magnitude of the reflected signal measured from side-view with the copper-covered F-22 model was 2.6 times greater than that of liquid metal. The reflectance study of the liquid metal would be helpful for liquid metal-based frequency selective surface or metamaterials.