Sublimator having integrally formed closure bars on a porous plate

Abstract

A sublimator includes a porous plate having a first surface comprising a low pressure side and a second surface comprising a high pressure side that allows a sublimate to move through the porous plate from the high pressure side to the low pressure side, and wherein the second surface defines a primary heat transfer surface. The sublimator also includes: a plurality of secondary heat transfer surfaces integrally formed on the primary heat transfer surface to facilitate flow and evenly distribute the sublimate across the high pressure side of the porous plate; and one or more closure bars formed integrally formed along an outer end of the plate and formed by an advanced manufacturing technique.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A sublimator comprising:
 a porous plate having a first surface comprising a low pressure side and a second surface comprising a high pressure side that allows a sublimate to move through the porous plate from the high pressure side to the low pressure side, and wherein the second surface defines a primary heat transfer surface;   a plurality of secondary heat transfer surfaces integrally formed on the primary heat transfer surface to facilitate flow and evenly distribute the sublimate across the high pressure side of the porous plate; and   one or more closure bars formed integrally formed along an outer end of the plate and formed by an advanced manufacturing technique.   
     
     
         2 . The sublimator of  claim 1 , wherein the advanced manufacturing technique is one of: laser-sintering, stereolithography, and fused deposition. 
     
     
         3 . The sublimator according to  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of secondary heat transfer surfaces comprise a plurality fins extending outwardly from the primary heat transfer surface. 
     
     
         4 . The sublimator according to  claim 3 , further comprising:
 an intermediate plate having a first side and a second side facing opposite the first side, wherein the first side is spaced apart from the high pressure side of the porous plate and contacts the one or more closure bars to define a sublimate chamber, and wherein the second side at least partially encloses a fluid chamber configured to cool a fluid within the fluid chamber.   
     
     
         5 . The sublimator according to  claim 4 , further including an inlet to direct sublimate into the sublimate chamber to flow across the primary and secondary heat transfer surfaces. 
     
     
         6 . The sublimator according to  claim 4 , further including a sublimate supply in fluid communication with the inlet to replenish sublimate that sublimates from the low pressure side of the porous plate into an external environment. 
     
     
         7 . The sublimator according to  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of secondary heat transfer surfaces comprise a plurality of fins placed in a predetermined arrangement to optimize heat sink with heat flux input. 
     
     
         8 . The sublimator according to  claim 1 , wherein a height of the plurality of secondary heat transfer surfaces is the same as a height of the one or more closure bars. 
     
     
         9 . A sublimator comprising:
 a sublimate chamber having a first side and a second side;   a fluid chamber positioned on the first side of the sublimate chamber, wherein the fluid chamber is configured to receive a fluid to be cooled; and   a porous plate having a first surface comprising a low pressure side and a second surface comprising a high pressure side,
 wherein the high pressure side is positioned on the second side of the sublimate chamber such that sublimate can move through the porous plate from the high pressure side to the low pressure side, and 
 wherein the second surface of the porous plate defines a primary heat transfer surface, and 
 wherein the porous plate includes a plurality of secondary heat transfer surfaces integrally thrilled on the primary heat transfer surface to facilitate flow and evenly distribute the sublimate across the high pressure side of the porous plate, and 
 wherein the porous plate includes one or more closure bars formed integrally formed along an outer end of the plate and formed by an advanced manufacturing technique. 
   
     
     
         10 . The sublimator according to  claim 9 , wherein the advanced manufacturing technique is one of: laser-sintering, stereolithography, and fused deposition. 
     
     
         11 . The sublimator according to  claim 9 , wherein the plurality of secondary heat transfer surfaces comprise a plurality fins extending outwardly from the primary heat transfer surface. 
     
     
         12 . The sublimator according to  claim 9 , wherein the plurality of secondary heat transfer surfaces comprise a plurality of fins placed in a predetermined arrangement to optimize heat sink with heat flux input. 
     
     
         13 . The sublimator according to  claim 9 , wherein a height of the plurality of secondary heat transfer surfaces is the same as a height of the one or more closure bars. 
     
     
         14 . A method of making a sublimator comprising the steps of:
 providing a porous plate having a first surface comprising a low pressure side and a second surface comprising a high pressure side such that sublimate is configured to move through the porous plate from the high pressure side to the low pressure side, and wherein the second surface defines a primary heat transfer surface; and   integrally forming at least one closure bars on the porous plate by using an additive manufacturing.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 integrally forming with an additive manufacturing process a plurality of secondary heat transfer surfaces on the primary heat transfer surface to facilitate flow and evenly distribute sublimate across the high pressure side of the porous plate.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the additive manufacturing process is one of: laser-sintering, stereolithography, and fused deposition.