• microgravity
• graphene
• loop heat pipes

An experimental study was conducted on stainless steel wicks, for loop heat pipe applications, coated with graphene with two different techniques, both on ground and in microgravity conditions. The aim of this work was to assess whether the graphene coating could enhance the performances of the wick under the capillary pressure and thermal exchange point of view, with a specific experimental set-up which could test the wicks as stand-alone elements. An analysis of experimental data was conducted, and through this the flaws of the set-up were characterized. Given this analysis, an improved version of the experimental set-up was proposed.