Thermal Storage Heaters
Phase Change Material Thermal Buffer Heaters
Phase change material thermal buffer heaters are encapsulated thermal storage units that absorb excess heat by melting during the lunar day and release latent heat at constant temperatures during the night. Designed to buffer thermal transients around high-value equipment, these systems utilize media such as n-octadecane paraffin wax melting between 20°C and 60°C to reduce nighttime electrical heater power demand by 10 to 20 percent. Operating in the lunar environment requires aluminum containment engineered to prevent leakage and withstand degradation across more than 1,000 day-night cycles, balancing the system's added physical mass against the reduction in critical power demands.
PCM thermal storage units absorbing excess heat during day and releasing during night
Purpose
Buffer thermal transients and reduce peak heater power demand during lunar night
Context
Child of L2-TCS-HTR in the Active Thermal Control System
Principles
- ▸Phase change materials (PCMs) store latent heat at constant temperature during melting
- ▸Paraffin wax PCMs melt at 20-60C range suitable for equipment thermal buffering
- ▸Salt hydrate PCMs offer higher energy density but have cycling degradation issues
- ▸PCM encapsulation prevents leakage and maintains containment over many cycles
Typical implementations
- ▸NASA phase change material thermal storage for lunar habitats
- ▸Outlast Technologies micro-encapsulated PCM
- ▸Industrial PCM thermal storage (Rubitherm, PCM Products)
Lunar considerations
- ▸PCM thermal mass can reduce nighttime heater power by 10-20%
- ▸Cycling stability of PCM over 1000+ day/night cycles must be verified
- ▸PCM mass adds to overall Ark mass budget but reduces power demand
- ▸Placement near high-value equipment maximizes thermal buffering benefit
Specifications
Functional
| primary function | PCM thermal storage units absorbing excess heat during day and releasing during night |
Physical
| materials | n-Octadecane paraffin wax, Aluminum PCM encapsulation, Thermal interface compound |
Interfaces
Provides
- Thermal buffering reducing peak heating demand
Requires
- Heater power to charge PCM during excess power availability
Cite this entry
Lunar Ark Codex. "Thermal Storage Heaters" (L3-TCS-HTR-THRM). Retrieved 10 September 2026, from https://lunarark.com/entry/L3-TCS-HTR-THRM
Licensed CC-BY-SA 4.0. You may reuse and adapt this entry with attribution, under the same licence.