Boyd Corporation's k-Core is a proprietary encapsulated Annealed Pyrolytic Graphite thermal-conduction material used to build lightweight, high-conductivity radiator panels, thermal doublers, cold plates, heat spreaders, and thermal straps for satellites and spacecraft.
k-Core Encapsulated Graphite Thermal Solutions
Boyd Corporation's k-Core is a proprietary encapsulated Annealed Pyrolytic Graphite thermal-conduction material used to build lightweight, high-conductivity radiator panels, thermal doublers, cold plates, heat spreaders, and thermal straps for satellites and spacecraft.
Description
k-Core is Boyd Corporation's flagship space-thermal product platform, built around Annealed Pyrolytic Graphite that is fully hermetically encapsulated inside a structural shell (aluminum, copper, ceramic, or carbon-fiber composite). The APG core provides very high in-plane thermal conductivity while the encapsulant supplies mechanical strength, launch-vibration durability, and CTE-matching to electronics, avoiding interface issues associated with heat pipes. It is offered in multiple form factors — radiator panels, thermal doublers, cold plates, heat spreaders/electronic chassis, and flexible thermal straps — for passive, gravity-independent thermal management of communications and government satellites, spacecraft electronics, and high-power avionics. k-Core has documented spaceflight heritage: two k-Core aluminum-encapsulated-graphite radiator panels flew on NASA/Johns Hopkins APL's DART spacecraft (impacted asteroid Dimorphos, September 2022); a k-Core carbon-fiber/APG thermal doubler flew on the U.S. Space Force WSF-M weather satellite launched on USSF-62 in March 2024; and k-Core thermal straps are marketed as TRL 9, 'Qualified in Space.'
Specifications
| Effective thermal conductivity (k-Core assembly) | up to 1000 W/m·K |
|---|---|
| Apg core in-plane thermal conductivity | up to 1700 W/m·K |
| Thermal straps effective conductivity | up to 1200 W/m·K |
| Radiator panel operating temperature range | -40°C to +72°C |
| Heat dissipation improvement | ≥40°C reduction vs. aluminum equivalent |
| Gravity independence | Rated for 0 g to >9 g environments |
| Encapsulant materials | Aluminum and copper alloys, ceramics, carbon-fiber composites |
| Core material | Annealed Pyrolytic Graphite |
| Technology readiness (thermal straps) | TRL 9, qualified in space |
| Flight heritage | NASA/JHU-APL DART mission radiator panels (2022); U.S. Space Force WSF-M/USSF-62 thermal doubler (2024) |
