Large deployable space antennas may be exposed to severe thermal environments in future space missions; extreme heat loads will result in considerable thermal stresses and deformations which seriously affects the accuracy of the antenna's parabolic surface. In this study, thermal–structural finite element analysis of a deployable AstroMesh antenna under extreme heat loads was presented. Considering position and orientation with respect to the Sun and Earth, the antenna's temperature changing law under orbital heat fluxes was first evaluated to find the worst condition as loading point. Analyses for the antenna under different levels of extreme heat loads were then performed to obtain the temperature distributions utilizing an equivalent quarter antenna model. Based on the temperature calculation results and prestress designs, structural analyses were finally made to gain the resulting stresses and deformations. The analysis results show that the existing antenna may generate significant performance distortion under extreme thermal environments; so attentions for reliability and safety under such conditions should be taken seriously in future antenna works. Modeling and analysis method proposed in this article was validated to be contributive in antenna's thermal and precompensation designs.

This paper presents the dynamic model, analysis, and fuzzy control of a microchannel-heat-exchanger (MHE) space cooling network for dissipating exhaust heat of onboard electronic components inside spacecraft to the outer space environment. Along with a method for modeling a nonlinear fluid resistance network, a detailed analysis of flow rate changes and temperature transients of the MHE cooling network is given, providing a basis for developing a fuzzy coordination control strategy. The fuzzy controller employs two synergic PID controllers to simultaneously control both fluid- and radiation-based cooling mechanisms. The fuzzy coordination controller has been numerically evaluated, demonstrating a better performance than single-input PID controllers in terms of its ability to leverage between two actuators in rejecting disturbances and preventing overmanipulation. This unique feature will benefit the operating reliability of the MHE cooling network under stiff space working conditions.

In recent years soil contamination has become a global problem because of industrial development. In situ thermal remediation has been proposed recently to not only lower costs, but also reduce the environmental impact compared to other soil remediation technologies such as chemical remediation. During the soil thermal remediation process, factors such as soil type and water content affecting the heat transfer pose challenges. In this study, a simple mathematical model is presented and the heat transfer performance during the soil heating process is researched via COMSOL Multiphysics 5.3 software (COMSOL Inc., Stockholm, Sweden). The temperature distribution and heating period under different operating conditions are evaluated. The simulation results show that the average soil temperature exhibits three stages during the heating process. First, soil is heated from the ambient temperature to the water boiling temperature (100 °C). Then, the soil stays at the water boiling temperature for a while before reaching the target temperature. Simultaneously, the effects of initial water content and groundwater flow on heat transfer are also studied. In addition, the results of a simulation can provide a reference for in situ heating remediation technology.