SPACE FLIGHT SYSTEMS RADIOISOTOPE POWER SYSTEMS PROGRAM OFFICE NATIONAL CENTER FOR SPACE EXPLORATION RESEARCH EXTERNAL PARTNERS EDUCATION/OUTREACH SPACE EXPLORATION BENEFITS PROGRAM SUPPORT IMAGE GALLERY



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ISS RESEARCH PROJECT LINKS

GRC MICROGRAVITY & TECHNOLOGY FLIGHT EXPERIMENTS


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Flow Boiling and Condensation Experiment (FBCE)


Objectives:
  • Obtain flow boiling database in a long-duration microgravity environment
  • Obtain flow condensation database in a long-duration microgravity environment
  • Develop an experimentally validated, mechanistic model for microgravity flow boiling critical heat flux (CHF) and dimensionless criteria to predict minimum flow velocity required to ensure gravity-independent CHF
  • Develop an experimentally validated, mechanistic model for microgravity annular condensation and dimensionless criteria to predict minimum flow velocity required to ensure gravity-independent annular condensation; also develop correlations for other condensation regimes in microgravity


    •   aircraft   flowboiling  
     
    (a)    		  
    (b)    		  


    (a) Purdue parabolic flight flow boiling apparatus.  (b) Photos of flow boiling of FC-72 along bottom heated wall at 0.25 m/s observed in microgravity on parabolic flight


    Relevance/Impact:

  • Reduced gravity condensation and flow boiling heat transfer data and models are virtually nonexistent.
  • Long-duration space missions will demand additional power and heat dissipation requirements compared to current space missions.  To reduce size and weight, the transition from single-phase to two-phase thermal management systems is necessary.
  • In addition, two-phase thermal management systems are more effective heat transfer systems compared to single-phase systems because two-phase systems rely on latent heat exchange rather than sensible heat exchange.
  • Flow boiling and condensation data in microgravity are also needed to validate numerical simulation tools that could be used to design space-based two-phase thermal management systems.


    • Development Approach:

  • Develop two-phase flow loop to condition dielectric coolant FC-72 (or normal perfluorohexane (C6F14), pure constituent in FC-72) to preset values of flow rate, pressure, and temperature to the test module
  • Develop Flow Boiling Module (FBM) to study subcooled and saturated flow boiling and critical heat flux (CHF)
    • Develop two separate Condensation Modules to enable study of condensation flow and heat transfer regimes: Condensation Module (CM1) for heat transfer measurements and Condensation Module (CM2) for flow visualization

      schematic  

    Schematic of proposed ISS Integrated Flow Boiling and Condensation Facility




    Contacts at NASA Glenn Research Center
    Project Manager:  Nancy Rebel Hall, NASA GRC
    nancy.r.hall@nasa.gov
    216-433-5643

    Project Scientist:  David Chao, NASA GRC
    david.f.chao@nasa.gov
    216-433-8320

    Principal Investigator:  Issam Mudawar, Purdue University

    Co-Principal Investigator:  Mohammad Mojibul Hasan, NASA GRC
    mohammad.m.hasan@nasa.gov
    216-977-7494

    Engineering Team:  GRC Engineering

     
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