NASASpaceFlight.com Forum
General Discussion => Q&A Section => Topic started by: rakaydos on 02/10/2021 12:22 am
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So a comment in another thread pointed out that in zero G you cannot rely on Convection to distribute heat from the sunny side of a spacecraft to the shaded side.
But what about in a rotational frame or reference? A classic BBQ roll is one example, but it also obviates the problem for obvous reasons... but what about a spin, axis on to the sun, like was proposed for the Von Br- I mean, Voyager station?
What would convection look like across a thermal gradient, inside a rotational frame of reference, axis aligned with the heat source?
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So a comment in another thread pointed out that in zero G you cannot rely on Convection to distribute heat from the sunny side of a spacecraft to the shaded side.
But what about in a rotational frame or reference? A classic BBQ roll is one example, but it also obviates the problem for obvous reasons... but what about a spin, axis on to the sun, like was proposed for the Von Br- I mean, Voyager station?
What would convection look like across a thermal gradient, inside a rotational frame of reference, axis aligned with the heat source?
That is true within a pressurized volume. Convection doesn't work in a vacuum because there no medium (air, water, etc) to transfer the heat. Conduction still works on a rotation body. Also, forced convention works (coolant lines, air ducts, etc). Within a large rotating pressurized body, local convention works. Warmer, less dense air is going to be replaced by denser cooler air in a gravity field.