Purging of a multilayer insulation with dacron tuft spacer by gas diffusion

Abstract

The time and purge gas usage required to purge a multilayer insulation (MLI) panel with gaseous helium by means of gas diffusion to obtain a condensable gas (nitrogen) concentration of less than 1 percent within the panel are stipulated. Two different, flat, rectangular MLI panels, one incorporating a butt joint, were constructed of of 11 double-aluminized Mylar (DAM) radiation shields separated by Dacron tuft spacers. The DAM/Dacron tuft concept is known commercially as Superfloc. The nitrogen gas concentration as a function of time within the MLI panel could be adequately predicted by using a simple, one dimensional gas diffusion model in which the boundary conditions at the edge of the MLI panel were time dependent. The time and purge gas usage required to achieve 1 percent nitrogen gas concentration within the MLI panel varied from 208 to 86 minutes and 34.1 to 56.5 MLI panel purge volumes, respectively, for gaseous helium purge rates from 10 to 40 MLI panel volumes per hour