Bruce Buckingham
          407/867-2468                                      June 22, 1990

          KSC RELEASE NO. 116 - 90

          KSC MAKES USE OF SPIN-OFF HEAT PIPE TECHNOLOGY

               Later this summer, Kennedy Space Center will get a taste of
          its own progress when spin-off technology is used to upgrade the
          Space Station Logistics and Resupply section of the Payload
          Support Building.

               Under a contract awarded to Precision Mechanical, Inc., a
          Cocoa, Florida small business firm, heat pipe technology will be
          used in the addition of a new air conditioning system which will
          control the temperature and humidity in the Payload Support
          Building. KSC is the first NASA center to make use of this energy
          saving technology.

               Heat pipes were initially used as an efficient cooling
          method for satellites in space. Later, through the efforts of the
          NASA Technology Utilization office, heat pipes were adapted to
          assist in the air conditioning and dehumidification of buildings
          on Earth.

               Heat pipes eliminate the "re-heat" cycle used in
          conventional air conditioners for humidity control and adds a
          pre-cooling cycle to the main cooling pool.

               Substantial amounts of energy are required to run
          inefficient conventional air conditioners which must "over-cool"
          the air in order to bring humidity down to acceptable levels.
          Heat pipes, however, cool the air before it enters the air
          conditioner and then decrease the relative humidity of the cooled
          air prior to it entering the room.

               Heat pipes have coolants inside sealed tubes. These tubes
          are placed on either side of the air conditioner -- in front of
          the warm air intake and after the cooled air out-flow. The liquid
          inside the heat pipe evaporators absorb heat from the in coming
          warmer air and passes the vapor into the condenser section of the
          pipes. The vapor then re-condenses inside the heat pipe and
          transfers the heat to the cold air supply coming out of the air
          conditioner, thereby lowering the relative humidity of the air
          out-flow.

               Because the relative humidity of the passing air is lower,
          rooms feel cooler even at the higher air temperatures.
          Thermostats can be adjusted and the air conditioners aren't
          required to operate as often.

               Outside applications for heat pipe dehumidification began
          with the work of Khanh Dinh of Alachua, Fla. The Dinh Company was
          founded in 1983 to capitalize on heat pipe transfer technology.
          Dinh's proposal led to a working relationship with NASA to
          develop and refine the space technology.

               Working under a contract with NASA, Dinh Company developed a
          line of heat pipe dehumidification systems that significantly
          increased the moisture removal capacity of conventional air
          conditioning systems. Such a system will be used in the Payload
          Support Building. Dinh has also introduced a line of stand alone
          heat pipe dehumidifiers for libraries and offices which offer
          double the efficiency of conventional dehumidification. This
          resulted in energy savings to users of 15 to 20 percent.

               Technology for the use of heat pipes was recently inducted
          into the U.S Space Foundation's Space Technology Hall of Fame at
          Colorado Springs, Co., during the Sixth National Space Symposium.

               Current applications of heat pipe technology include uses at
          Bob's Candies, Albany, Ga., and on the Alaskan pipeline.