JP3541258B2 - Space environment test equipment - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
[Industrial applications]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a space environment test apparatus, and more particularly, to a space environment test apparatus that forms various environments used in outer space such as artificial satellites by forming a high vacuum and cryogenic environment substantially equivalent to the space environment. In particular, the present invention relates to the configuration of the refrigerant flow path.
[0002]
[Prior art]
As shown in FIG. 5, the space environment test apparatus is configured such that the inside of the vacuum chamber 1 evacuated to a high vacuum is painted black to simulate the darkness and darkness of the universe. A heat absorbing wall (hereinafter, referred to as a shroud) 2 called a shroud that is cooled to a temperature of 100K or less is provided.
[0003]
When the shroud 2 is cooled with a refrigerant such as liquid nitrogen, the refrigerant supplied from the refrigerant supply path 3 cools the shroud 2 and gasifies it, passes through the low-temperature refrigerant gas discharge path 4 as low-temperature gas, and passes through the discharge reservoir 5. It is released into the atmosphere at low temperatures via the air.
[0004]
When returning the shroud 2 to normal temperature, it is necessary to first discharge the refrigerant liquid inside the shroud 2. The discharged refrigerant liquid passes through the refrigerant liquid discharge path 6 and is temporarily stored in the liquid discharge reservoir 5. Then, the liquid is spontaneously evaporated by the ambient temperature in the liquid discharge reservoir 5 and is discharged into the atmosphere at a low temperature.
[0005]
Further, the heating for returning the shroud 2 to the normal temperature is performed by raising the pressure in the gas feeder 7 and flowing a heating gas such as nitrogen gas heated by the heater 8 into the shroud 2 through the shroud heating path 9. This is done by circulating through the return path 10.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Low-temperature refrigerant gas or refrigerant liquid evaporating gas released during shroud cooling or heating generates low-temperature fog around the discharged gas, obstructing the field of view, and impeding work safety when passages are close. Consideration must also be given and the very low temperatures can cool the surrounding items and in some cases lead to freezing damage. Or it was necessary to heat it to around normal temperature. However, in the case of the former, layout restrictions are increased, and in the case of the latter, a separate large heating source is required, which increases equipment capacity and cost.
[0007]
Therefore, the present invention is capable of heating a low-temperature released refrigerant gas to room temperature and releasing it without adding equipment dedicated to heating the low-temperature released gas, preventing the generation of dense fog due to the low-temperature released gas, and improving the layout. It is an object of the present invention to provide a space environment test apparatus in which the restrictions on the environment are reduced and the equipment cost is reduced.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, a space environment test apparatus according to the present invention is a space environment test apparatus including a shroud for keeping the inside of the vacuum vessel at a very low temperature, wherein an outlet path of the shroud cooling refrigerant is provided. In addition, a heating device for heating the gas released during shroud cooling is provided, and a path for introducing the evaporative gas of the discharged liquid when the refrigerant liquid for shroud cooling is discharged is connected to the inlet side, and the shroud heater is connected to the outlet side. A path for introducing a heating gas at the time of warming into the shroud is connected, and the heating device is provided with a gas feeder and a heater.
[0009]
That is, a heating device including a gas feeder and a heater is provided in a refrigerant outlet path of the shroud, and an outlet path of the heating apparatus is branched to form a path for opening one to the atmosphere, and the other is a refrigerant for the shroud. The shroud is joined to the supply path to form a heating path for the shroud, and the refrigerant supply path is branched or a refrigerant liquid discharge path is provided at the lower end of the refrigerant flow path of the shroud. It is configured such that it joins with a refrigerant outlet path of the shroud at a preceding stage of the heating device via a liquid reservoir.
[0010]
Further, the heating device includes a gas feeder and a heater, and includes the order or the order of the heater and the gas feeder. Further, in the case of using only a heater, it also includes that a gas feeder is disposed in a heating path of the shroud.
[0011]
[Operation]
As described above, the heating device is provided in the shroud refrigerant gas outlet path, and the released gas at the time of shroud cooling, the gas to be heated at the time of heating, and the evaporating gas of the discharged liquid at the time of discharging the refrigerant liquid in the shroud, Since the heat is passed through the heating device, the low-temperature refrigerant gas can be discharged to the normal temperature by raising the temperature to normal temperature.
[0012]
【Example】
Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail based on one embodiment shown in the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic system diagram showing one embodiment of a refrigerant flow channel in the space environment test apparatus of the present invention. The space environment test apparatus includes a vacuum vessel 11, a shroud 12 provided on the inner periphery of the vacuum vessel 11, a coolant supply path 13 for supplying a coolant to the shroud 12, and a coolant gas derived from an upper portion of the shroud 12. Refrigerant gas outlet path 14, a heating device 15 provided in the refrigerant gas outlet path 14, an atmosphere release path 16 for releasing gas derived from the heating apparatus 15 into the atmosphere, and an atmosphere release path 16. A shroud heating path 17 that branches off from the refrigerant supply path 13 and joins the refrigerant supply path 13, a refrigerant liquid discharge path 18 that draws refrigerant liquid from a lower part of the shroud 12, and a refrigerant liquid that is drawn into the refrigerant liquid discharge path 18 is temporarily A effluent reservoir 19 stored in the effluent reservoir 19, and an evaporative gas discharge passage 20 for joining the refrigerant gas evaporated in the effluent reservoir 19 to the refrigerant gas outlet passage 14 upstream of the heating device 15. Valve 13a to be provided in each path to control the introduction and derivation of the coolant, 14a, 16a, 17a, 18a, is constituted by a 20a.
[0013]
The heating device 15 includes a gas feeder 21 that can be used at a low temperature, and a heater 22 that raises the temperature of a low-temperature refrigerant gas by using electricity, steam, or the like as a heat source. The refrigerant gas introduced via 20 is configured to be heated to around normal temperature by a heater 22, and cooling or heating is promoted by a gas feeder 21.
[0014]
FIG. 2 shows the flow of the refrigerant during the shroud cooling by solid lines, in which the valves 13a, 14a, 16a are open and the valves 17a, 18a, 20a are closed. Refrigerant, for example, liquid nitrogen, supplied from the refrigerant supply path 13 is introduced into the refrigerant channels 12 a of the shroud 12 and cools the shroud 12. The refrigerant gas evaporated by cooling the shroud 12, that is, the low-temperature nitrogen gas is introduced into the heating device 15 from the refrigerant gas outlet path 14 via the valve 14a, and after the temperature is raised to substantially the atmospheric temperature by the heater 22, The air is released from the atmosphere release path 16 to the atmosphere via the valve 16a. When the coolant supply path 13 is long, the valves 18a and 20a may be temporarily opened at the beginning of cooling.
[0015]
FIG. 3 shows the flow of the refrigerant liquid in the shroud 12, for example, the refrigerant liquid when discharging the liquid nitrogen, and the flow of the vaporized gas by solid lines. Is closed. Liquid nitrogen in the refrigerant flow path 12a of the shroud 12 is temporarily stored in a liquid discharge reservoir 19 from a refrigerant liquid discharge path 18 via a valve 18a. After joining from 20 to the refrigerant gas outlet path 14 via the valve 20a, being introduced into the heating device 15, passing through the gas feeder 21 and being heated to substantially the atmospheric temperature by the heater 22, the same as in the case shown in FIG. At the same time, the air is discharged into the atmosphere from the air discharge path 16 via the valve 16a.
[0016]
FIG. 4 shows the flow of the heating gas during the heating of the shroud by a solid line, in which the valves 14a and 17a are open and the valves 13a, 16a, 18a and 20a are closed. A heating gas, such as nitrogen gas or dry air, which passes through the refrigerant flow path 12a of the shroud 12 and is heated by heating the shroud 12, is introduced into the heating device 15 from the refrigerant gas outlet path 14 via the valve 14a. After the pressure is increased by the gas feeder 21, the temperature is increased by the heater 22, and the temperature is derived, the gas flows through the shroud heating path 17 branched from the atmosphere release path 16, flows into the refrigerant supply path 13 via the valve 17a, and After flowing through the coolant supply path 13, the shroud 12 is heated by circulating from the inlet at the lower end of the shroud 12 into the coolant channel 12 a. At this time, a heating gas introduction pipe (not shown) from outside the system may be connected to the shroud heating path 17 if necessary.
[0017]
The present embodiment shows a basic system on the refrigerant side in the space environment test apparatus, and includes the shape and number of divisions of the shroud, the connection position and number of the piping system, the mounting position of the valve, the necessity of the gas feeder, and The mutual positional relationship between the gas feeder and the heater is a design matter determined as appropriate, and is not limited to this.
[0018]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, in the space environment test apparatus of the present invention, a heating device is provided in the refrigerant gas outlet path of the shroud, the path after the heating apparatus is led out is branched, one of the paths is set to the atmosphere release path, and the other is set to the shroud heating path. The evaporative gas discharge path, which joins the refrigerant supply path so as to generate the temperature and draws out the refrigerant liquid in the shroud and passes through the liquid discharge reservoir, merges with the pre-heating device provided in the shroud outlet path. Therefore, all of the gas released during the cooling of the shroud, the gas to be heated at the time of heating, and the evaporative gas at the time of discharging the refrigerant liquid in the shroud pass through the heating device, thereby causing dangerous discharge. The low-temperature refrigerant gas can be released after the temperature is raised to room temperature.
[0019]
Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of dense fog at the refrigerant gas discharge port, to improve the operational safety and eliminate the risk of damage to the articles due to low temperatures, to reduce layout restrictions and reduce equipment costs. it can.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic system diagram of a refrigerant flow path of a space environment test apparatus showing one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a system diagram showing a flow of a refrigerant during shroud cooling.
FIG. 3 is a system diagram showing a flow of a refrigerant liquid and an evaporating gas when the refrigerant liquid in a shroud is discharged.
FIG. 4 is a system diagram showing a flow of a heating gas when the shroud is heated.
FIG. 5 is a schematic system diagram showing an example of a refrigerant flow path of a conventional space environment test apparatus.
[Explanation of symbols]
11 vacuum chamber, 12 shroud, 13 refrigerant supply path, 14 refrigerant gas outlet path, 15 heating device, 16 air release path, 17 shroud heating path, 18 refrigerant liquid discharge path, 19 ... Liquid discharge reservoir, 20: evaporative gas release path, 21: gas feeder, 22: heater

Claims (2)

In a space environment test apparatus provided with a heat absorbing wall for keeping the inside of the vacuum vessel at a very low temperature inside a vacuum vessel, a discharge gas at the time of cooling the heat absorbing wall is heated in an outlet path of the coolant for cooling the heat absorbing wall. In addition to the heating device, a path for introducing the evaporating gas of the discharged liquid at the time of discharging the cooling liquid for cooling the heat absorbing wall is connected to the inlet side, and the heated gas at the time of heating the heat absorbing wall is connected to the outlet side. A space environment test apparatus, wherein a path for introducing a heat absorbing wall is connected. The space environment test apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the heating apparatus includes a gas feeder and a heater.

Images