Performance verification of mems variable emissivity radiator for spacecraft thermal control systems

In this study, MEMS variable emissivity radiator was proposed. The proposed radiator changes the emissivity property according to the polarity change of electrodes by using electric charge of silicon beads. Variable emissivity function and thermal control tests were conducted in vacuum chamber to verify the performance of the MEMS radiator. Based on thermal control test results, the effective emissivity was calculated. As the thermal test result, the temperature difference between open and closed modes at the hot case was 6.4°C, whereas at the cold case, it was 10°C. The effective emissivity at the closed mode was 0.63, whereas it was 0.31 at the open mode.