Heat-balance Thermal Protection with Heat Pipes for Hypersonic Vehicle

Heat-balance thermal protection is non-ablating thermal protection for leading edge of hypersonic vehicle. Heat will be quickly transferred from high aerodynamic heating area to low aerodynamic heating area, where the energy will be released by radiation. The temperature of high aerodynamic heating area could be reduced to protect the designed structure from being burned down. Heat-balance thermal protection is summarized. The research on heat-pipe for heat-balance thermal protection is introduced.