Multifunctional Lightweight Radiators for Small-Satellite Thermal Control

TL;DR

This paper introduces a topology-optimization framework for designing lightweight, multifunctional radiators that balance thermal conductivity, stiffness, and mass for small satellite thermal management.

Contribution

It presents a novel integrated design approach combining structural and thermal optimization to create hierarchical, efficient radiator microarchitectures with embedded heat channels.

Findings

Hierarchical architectures with continuous thermal channels

Efficient trade-offs between mass, stiffness, and thermal conductivity

Nearly isothermal radiating surfaces confirmed by analysis

Abstract

Thermal management in small satellites is constrained by limited radiative area and strict mass budgets, necessitating the development of radiator structures that are simultaneously lightweight, thermally conductive, and mechanically robust. Here, we present a topology-optimization and design-space analysis framework for multifunctional lightweight radiators that achieve high specific stiffness and high effective thermal conductivity through simultaneous structural and thermal optimization. Density-based optimization produces hierarchical architectures that naturally form continuous cavities suitable for high-conductivity channels such as embedded heat pipes. The resulting microarchitectures exhibit Pareto behavior indicating efficient trade-offs between mass, stiffness, and thermal conductivity, while maintaining dynamic stability across a broad range of design parameters. Coupled structural-thermal analysis shows that voids used as thermal channels yield nearly isothermal radiating surfaces, confirming efficient lateral and transverse heat flow through the radiator. This integrated framework contributes toward the development of thermo-mechanically optimized radiator panels for small-scale spacecraft, enabling compact and efficient thermal control solutions.