Seminário de Apresentação Pública do Plano de Tese da Patrícia Borges de Sousa, que decorrerá no próximo dia 28.

Doctoral Programme in Engineering Physics

PhD Work Plan                                                                        Patrícia Borges de Sousa n.º 44133

15 K Liquid H2 Energy Storage Unit for Space Applications

            The X-IFU instrument for X-ray observation on ESA’s new ATHENA satellite will employ a large and complex cryogenic chain for detector cooling down to 50 mK. To act as a buffer and avoid over dimensioning the chain, an Energy Storage Unit (ESU) using liquid hydrogen is proposed as a solution for absorbing thermal heat peaks released by the recycling phase of a 300 mK cooler. This doctoral programme consists in the study, development and testing of a device that is capable of storing around 400 J of thermal energy between 15 and 17 K, by taking advantage of the liquid-to-vapour latent heat of hydrogen. In this seminary, the various challenges that arise with working on space qualified systems, as well as meeting specific ESA requirements in order to render it suitable for space applications, will be addressed and discussed.