Failure analysis of a Stirling engine heat pipe

Abstract

Failure analysis was conducted on a heat pipe from a Stirling Engine test rig which was designed to operate at 1073 K. Premature failure had occurred due to localized overheating at the leading edge of the evaporator fin. It was found that a crack had allowed air to enter the fin and react with the sodium coolant. The origin of the crack was found to be located at the inner surface of the Inconel 600 fin where severe intergranular corrosion had taken place.

Authors

• Moore, Thomas J. NASA Lewis Research Center
• Cairelli, James E. NASA Lewis Research Center
• Khalili, Kaveh Stirling Thermal Motors, Inc., Ann Arbor