Graphite thermal cable and method for implementing same
A system may include a thermal source, a thermal sink and heat-rejecting media comprising a thermal cable, the thermal cable comprising a main length comprising a flexible graphite layer rolled into a cylindrical shape covered on the outside thereof by a thermally-insulating layer of the same cylindrical shape, a first termination at which the flexible graphite layer thermally couples to the thermal source, and a second termination at which the flexible graphite layer thermally couples to the thermal sink.
1. A system comprising:
a thermal source;
a thermal sink; and
heat-rejecting media comprising a thermal cable, the thermal cable comprising:
a main length comprising a flexible graphite layer rolled into a cylindrical shape covered on the outside thereof by a thermally-insulating layer of the same cylindrical shape;
a first termination at which the flexible graphite layer thermally couples to the thermal source; and
a second termination at which the flexible graphite layer thermally couples to the thermal sink.
2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the cylindrical shape comprises one of a circular cylindrical shape and a spiraled cylindrical shape.
3. The system of claim 1 , the thermal cable further comprising a strain relief member mechanically coupled to the thermally-insulating layer to provide mechanical strain relief to the thermal cable.
4. The system of claim 1 , wherein a termination comprising one of the first termination and the second termination is thermally and mechanically coupled to a thermally-conductive cap interfaced between the termination and one of the thermal source and the thermal sink.
5. The system of claim 4 , wherein the thermally-conductive cap comprises at least one of a mounting feature and an alignment feature to mechanically couple the thermally-conductive cap to one of the thermal source and the thermal sink.
6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the thermally-insulating layer covers the flexible graphite layer within at least one of the first termination and the second termination.
7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the thermally-insulating layer comprises aerogel.
8. A thermal cable comprising:
a main length comprising a flexible graphite layer rolled into a cylindrical shape covered on the outside thereof by a thermally-insulating layer of the same cylindrical shape;
a first termination at which the flexible graphite layer is configured to thermally couple to a thermal source; and
a second termination at which the flexible graphite layer is configured to thermally couple to a thermal sink.
9. The thermal cable of claim 8 , wherein the cylindrical shape comprises one of a circular cylindrical shape and a spiraled cylindrical shape.
10. The thermal cable of claim 8 , the thermal cable further comprising a strain relief member mechanically coupled to the thermally-insulating layer to provide mechanical strain relief to the thermal cable.
11. The thermal cable of claim 8 , wherein a termination comprising one of the first termination and the second termination is thermally and mechanically coupled to a thermally-conductive cap configured to interface between the termination and one of the thermal source and the thermal sink.
12. The thermal cable of claim 11 , wherein the thermally-conductive cap comprises at least one of a mounting feature and an alignment feature configured to mechanically couple the thermally-conductive cap to one of the thermal source and the thermal sink.
13. The thermal cable of claim 8 , wherein the thermally-insulating layer covers the flexible graphite layer within at least one of the first termination and the second termination.
14. The thermal cable of claim 8 , wherein the thermally-insulating layer comprises aerogel.
15. A method for forming a thermal cable comprising:
rolling a flexible graphite layer into a cylindrical shape covered on the outside thereof by a thermally-insulating layer of the same cylindrical shape to form a main length of the thermal cable;
forming a first termination at which the flexible graphite layer is configured to thermally couple to a thermal source; and
forming a second termination at which the flexible graphite layer is configured to thermally couple to a thermal sink.
16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the cylindrical shape comprises one of a circular cylindrical shape and a spiraled cylindrical shape.
17. The method of claim 15 , further comprising mechanically coupling a strain relief member to the thermally-insulating layer to provide mechanical strain relief to the thermal cable.
18. The method of claim 15 , further comprising thermally and mechanically coupling a termination comprising one of the first termination and the second termination to a thermally-conductive cap configured to interface between the termination and one of the thermal source and the thermal sink.
19. The method of claim 18 , wherein the thermally-conductive cap comprises at least one of a mounting feature and an alignment feature configured to mechanically couple the thermally-conductive cap to one of the thermal source and the thermal sink.
20. The method of claim 15 , further comprising covering the flexible graphite layer with the thermally-insulating layer within at least one of the first termination and the second termination.
21. The method of claim 15 , wherein the thermally-insulating layer comprises aerogel.