Poster Presentation

Testing a Passive Cooling Covering for High-Altitude Balloon Payload Thermal Regulation

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Abstract

Our high-altitude balloon payloads are thermally insulated against the cold air at high altitudes.  This can cause overheating at lower altitudes, however, as the electronics, warm air, and the Sun add heat to the payload.  In the 2024-25 cycle of the Louisiana Aerospace Catalyst Experience for Students (LaACES), we are testing the effect of a passive cooling surface on the internal temperature of our payload.  The passive cooling surface consists of a layer of aluminum foil covered by a layer of packing tape.  The aluminum foil reflects solar radiation, while the packing tape has a high emissivity in the mid-infrared region.

Our payload consists of 2 identical sets of electronics separated by a thick insulating interior wall.  One side is the control side and the other is the experimental side.  The exterior of the control side is covered with Ultrakote (our usual covering) and the exterior of the experimental side is covered with the passive cooling covering.  Each side of the payload has five thermometers:  two external and three internal thermometers.  Each records the temperature every 10 seconds for post-flight analysis.

It is expected that the experimental side will be significantly cooler than the control side at lower altitudes.  The effect of the passive cooling covering at high altitude is unknown, however, and observing that effect is the goal of our experiment.  The LaACES balloon flight is scheduled for May 20, 2025.  We will report on the results of our experiment.

Keywords: thermal regulation, passive cooling

How to Cite:

Blanchard, G. T., Barbier, K., Merritt, R., Ockman, A. & Scott, J., (2025) “Testing a Passive Cooling Covering for High-Altitude Balloon Payload Thermal Regulation”, Academic High Altitude Conference 2025(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/ahac.20132