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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 37 records · Page 2
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1988

A new linearized theory of laminar film condensation of two phase annular flow in a capillary pumped loop

Future large space based facilities, such as Space Station, will require energy management systems capable of transporting tens of kilowatts of heat over a hundred meters or more. This represents better than an order of magnitude improvement over current technology. Two-phase thermal systems are currently being developed to meet this challenge. Condensation heat transfer plays a very important role in this system. The present study attempts an analytic solution to the set of linearized partial differential equations. The axial velocity and temperature functions were found to be Bessel functions which have oscillatory behavior. This result agrees qualitatively with the experimental evidence from tests at both NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and elsewhere.

Hsu, Y. K.↗
NASA NTRS2006

Vapor-Compression Heat Pumps for Operation Aboard Spacecraft

Vapor-compression heat pumps (including both refrigerators and heat pumps) of a proposed type would be capable of operating in microgravity and would be safe to use in enclosed environments like those of spacecraft. The designs of these pumps would incorporate modifications of, and additions to, vapor-compression cycles of heat pumps now used in normal Earth gravitation, in order to ensure efficiency and reliability during all phases of operation, including startup, shutdown, nominal continuous operation, and peak operation. Features of such a design might include any or all of the following: (1) Configuring the compressor, condenser, evaporator, valves, capillary tubes (if any), and controls to function in microgravitation; (2) Selection of a working fluid that satisfies thermodynamic requirements and is safe to use in a closed crew compartment; (3) Incorporation of a solenoid valve and/or a check valve to prevent influx of liquid to the compressor upon startup (such influx could damage the compressor); (4) Use of a diode heat pipe between the cold volume and the evaporator to limit the influx of liquid to the compressor upon startup; and (5) Use of a heated block to vaporize any liquid that arrives at the compressor inlet.

Ruemmele, Warren↗
NASA NTRS1998

Analysis of water from the Space Shuttle and Mir Space Station by ion chromatography and capillary electrophoresis

Drinking water and condensate samples collected from the US Space Shuttle and the Russian Mir Space Station are analyzed routinely at the NASA-Johnson Space Center as part of an ongoing effort to verify water quality and monitor the environment of the spacecraft. Water quality monitoring is particularly important for the Mir water supply because approximately half of the water consumed is recovered from humidity condensate. Drinking water on Shuttle is derived from the fuel cells. Because there is little equipment on board the spacecraft for monitoring the water quality, samples collected by the crew are transported to Earth on Shuttle or Soyuz vehicles, and analyzed exhaustively. As part of the test battery, anions and cations are measured by ion chromatography, and carboxylates and amines by capillary electrophoresis. Analytical data from Shuttle water samples collected before and after several missions, and Mir condensate and potable recovered water samples representing several recent missions are presented and discussed. Results show that Shuttle water is of distilled quality, and Mir recovered water contains various levels of minerals imparted during the recovery processes as designed. Organic ions are rarely detected in potable water samples, but were present in humidity condensate samples.

NASA Discipline Environmental Health↗
NASA NTRS2006

Capillary Limit of a Miniature Loop Heat Pipe with Multiple Evaporators and Multiple Condensers

An experimental investigation of a miniature loop heat pipe with multiple evaporators and multiple condensers were conducted in order to evaluate its capillary limit. The experimental tests were conducted by varying heat load to one or both evaporators, with and without active temperature control of compensation chamber (CC) using the thermoelectric devices, and variable tilts between the evaporators and the CCs. The physical process of the loop and thermal conductance of the heat leak from evaporator to (CC) were discussed based on the test results. The difference of the temperature profiles between with and without active control of CC temperature was evaluated. The effect of the gravity on capillary limit and CC temperature was also evaluated by comparing the test result in horizontal position with that in vertical position. The loop recovery after capillary limit was exceeded was also described.

Ku, Jentung↗
NASA NTRS1972

Closed-cycle power supply for fluidic control systems

Power supply utilizes small quantities of two-phase fluid of suitable thermodynamic properties for circulation in a capillary-pumped heat transfer loop. Fluid is vaporized in evaporator, passed through fluidic system load, condensed, pumped by multistage capillary pump, and returned to the evaporator.

Fiet, O.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Use of thermocapillary migration in a controllable heat valve

In accordance with the Marangoni effect, immiscible droplets in a host fluid in which a temperature gradient exists move in the direction of increasing temperature. It is proposed that this thermocapillary migration could be used to construct a 'liquid wick' that would return the condensed vapor at the condenser end of a heat pipe back to the evaporator, thus completing the fluid circuit. The droplets would be formed by capillary pressure forcing the condensate through a perforated diaphragm whose temperature would control the droplet flux, and hence the heat flux between the two ends of the heat pipe, thus making it a controllable heat valve.

Schmid, L. A.↗
NASA NTRS1991

A Local Condensation Analysis Representing Two-phase Annular Flow in Condenser/radiator Capillary Tubes

NASA's effort for the thermal environmental control of the Space Station Freedom is directed towards the design, analysis, and development of an Active Thermal Control System (ATCS). A two phase, flow through condenser/radiator concept was baselined, as a part of the ATCS, for the radiation of space station thermal load into space. The proposed condenser rejects heat through direct condensation of ATCS working fluid (ammonia) in the small diameter radiator tubes. Analysis of the condensation process and design of condenser tubes are based on the available two phase flow models for the prediction of flow regimes, heat transfer, and pressure drops. The prediction formulas use the existing empirical relationships of friction factor at gas-liquid interface. An attempt is made to study the stability of interfacial waves in two phase annular flow. The formulation is presented of a stability problem in cylindrical coordinates. The contribution of fluid viscosity, surface tension, and transverse radius of curvature to the interfacial surface is included. A solution is obtained for Kelvin-Helmholtz instability problem which can be used to determine the critical and most dangerous wavelengths for interfacial waves.

Karimi, Amir↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Acoustic Insights into Flow Condensation Mechanisms

Two-phase thermal management systems, with both boiling and condensation processes, offer great potential and heat transfer coefficients that are orders of magnitude higher than traditional single-phase systems. However, two-phase flows can suffer from a wide range of interfacial instabilities leading to significant thermal performance degradation. In this study, we aim to detect regime transitions and characterize dominating physical mechanisms of flow condensation, such as turbulent diffusion in annular liquid film and interfacial waves, using an integrated system of acoustic, modal, and optical sensing techniques and thermofluidic characterizations. A wideband acoustic emissions sensor and high-sensitivity accelerometer are utilized to capture acoustic and vibrational signatures that signal the onset of liquid film formation and interfacial waves during flow pattern transitions. Compared to optical imaging, wideband acoustic emission sensing allows for higher sampling rates to capture high-frequency interface oscillations critical to the flow regime transitions and works well even for condensation in opaque tubes. Acoustic features (e.g., amplitude, frequency, energy, duration) are correlated with thermofluidic processes (e.g., capillary flows, turbulent flows, boiling, condensation). By relating thermal performance metrics with these dynamic signatures in acoustic and modal regimes, we explore the ability to probe and monitor critical flow regime transitions and transport efficiency in flow condensation.

Acoustic Modal Regimes↗
NASA NTRS1983

A helium-3 refrigerator employing capillary confinement of liquid cryogen

A condensation refrigerator suitable for operation in a zero gravity space environment was constructed. The condensed liquid refrigerant is confined by surface tension inside a porous metal matrix. Helium-4 and helium-3 gases were condensed and held in a copper matrix. Evaporative cooling of confined liquid helium-4 resulted in a temperature of 1.4K. Using a zeolite adsorption pump external to the cryostat, a temperature of 0.6 K was achieved through evaporative cooling of liquid helium-3. The amount of time required for complete evaporation of a controlled mass of liquid helium-4 contained in the copper matrix was measured as a function of the applied background power. For heating powers below 18 mW the measured times are consistent with the normal boiling of the confined volume of liquid refrigerant. At background powers above 18 mW the rapid rise in the temperature of the copper matrix the signature of the absence of confined liquid occurs in a time a factor of two shorter than that expected on the basis of an extrapolation of the low power data.

Ennis, D. J.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Engineered Multifunctional Surfaces for Fluid Handling

Designs incorporating variations in capillary geometry and hydrophilic and/or antibacterial surface properties have been developed that are capable of passive gas/liquid separation and passive water flow. These designs can incorporate capillary grooves and/or surfaces arranged to create linear and circumferential capillary geometry at the micro and macro scale, radial fin configurations, micro holes and patterns, and combinations of the above. The antibacterial property of this design inhibits the growth of bacteria or the development of biofilm. The hydrophilic property reduces the water contact angle with a treated substrate such that water spreads into a thin layer atop the treated surface. These antibacterial and hydrophilic properties applied to a thermally conductive surface, combined with capillary geometry, create a novel heat exchanger capable of condensing water from a humid, two-phase water and gas flow onto the treated heat exchanger surfaces, and passively separating the condensed water from the gas flow in a reduced gravity application. The overall process to generate the antibacterial and hydrophilic properties includes multiple steps to generate the two different surface properties, and can be divided into two major steps. Step 1 uses a magnetron-based sputtering technique to implant the silver atoms into the base material. A layer of silver is built up on top of the base material. Completion of this step provides the antibacterial property. Step 2 uses a cold-plasma technique to generate the hydrophilic surface property on top of the silver layer generated in Step 1. Completion of this step provides the hydrophilic property in addition to the antibacterial property. Thermally conductive materials are fabricated and then treated to create the antibacterial and hydrophilic surface properties. The individual parts are assembled to create a condensing heat exchanger with antibacterial and hydrophilic surface properties and capillary geometry, which is capable of passive phase separation in a reduced gravity application. The plasma processes for creating antibacterial and hydrophilic surface properties are suitable for applications where water is present on an exposed surface for an extended time, such that bacteria or biofilms could form, and where there is a need to manage the water on the surface. The processes are also suitable for applications where only the hydrophilic property is needed. In particular, the processes are applicable to condensing heat exchangers (CHXs), which benefit from the antibacterial properties as well as the hydrophilic properties. Water condensing onto the control surfaces of the CHX will provide the moist conditions necessary for the growth of bacteria and the formation of biofilms. The antibacterial properties of the base layer (silver) will mitigate and prevent the growth of bacteria and formation of biofilms that would otherwise reduce the CHX performance. In addition, the hydrophilic properties reduce the water contact angle and prevent water droplets from bridging between control surfaces. Overall, the hydrophilic properties reduce the pressure drop across the CHX.

Thomas, Chris↗
NASA NTRS2005

Condensing Heat Exchanger Concept Developed for Space Systems

The current system for moisture removal and humidity control for the space shuttles and the International Space Station uses a two-stage process. Water first condenses onto fins and is pulled through "slurper bars." These bars take in a two-phase mixture of air and water that is then separated by the rotary separator. A more efficient design would remove the water directly from the air without the need of an additional water separator downstream. For the Condensing Heat Exchanger for Space Systems (CHESS) project, researchers at the NASA Glenn Research Center in collaboration with NASA Johnson Space Center are designing a condensing heat exchanger that utilizes capillary forces to collect and remove water and that can operate in varying gravitational conditions including microgravity, lunar gravity, and Martian gravity.

Hasan, Mohammad M.↗
NASA NTRS2014

Condensing Heat Exchanger with Hydrophilic Antimicrobial Coating

A multi-layer antimicrobial hydrophilic coating is applied to a substrate of anodized aluminum, although other materials may form the substrate. A silver layer is sputtered onto a thoroughly clean anodized surface of the aluminum to about 400 nm thickness. A layer of crosslinked, silicon-based macromolecular structure about 10 nm thickness overlies the silver layer, and the outermost surface of the layer of crosslinked, silicon-based macromolecular structure is hydroxide terminated to produce a hydrophilic surface with a water drop contact angle of less than 10.degree.. The coated substrate may be one of multiple fins in a condensing heat exchanger for use in the microgravity of space, which has narrow channels defined between angled fins such that the surface tension of condensed water moves water by capillary flow to a central location where it is pumped to storage. The antimicrobial coating prevents obstruction of the capillary passages.

Thomas, Christopher M.↗
NASA NTRS2007

Gravity Effect on Capillary Limit in a Miniature Loop Heat Pipe with Multiple Evaporators and Multiple Condensers

This paper describes the gravity effect on heat transport characteristics in a minia6re loop heat pipe with multiple evaporators and multiple condensers. Tests were conducted in three different orientations: horizontal, 45deg tilt, and vertical. The gravity affected the loop's natural operating temperature, the maximum heat transport capability, and the thermal conductance. In the case that temperatures of compensation chambers were actively controlled, the required control heater power was also dependent on the test configuration. In the vertical configuration, the secondary wick was not able to pump the liquid from the CC to the evaporator against the gravity. Thus the loop could operate stably or display some peculiar behaviors depending on the initial liquid distribution between the evaporator and the CC. Because such an initial condition was not known prior to the test, the subsequent loop performance was unpredictable.

Nagano, Hosei↗
NASA NTRS1974

Electrohydrodynamic heat pipe experiments

Experiments with two electrohydrodynamic heat pipes are reported. Both devices employ an electromechanical flow structure for axial liquid flow and a capillary wicking structure for (1) collection of condensed liquid at the cooled end and (2) distribution of this liquid at the heated end. One device has circumferential grooving for the capillary structure and the other has feltmetal wicking. The experiments successfully demonstrate the electrohydrodynamic heat pipe concept. Compatibility of the two circumferential wick structures with an axial electromechanical flow structure is also demonstrated. A significant mismatch of the capillary groove and electrohydrodynamic pumping capabilities results in severe hydrodynamic burn-out limiting in the first heat pipe. Both devices have very poor over-all thermal conductances of the order of 1-2 W/deg C, reflecting the generally poor heat-transfer properties of the dielectric working fluids required in electrohydrodynamic heat pipes.

Jones, T. B.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Capillary pumped loop body heat exchanger

A capillary pumped loop for transferring heat from one body part to another body part, the capillary pumped loop comprising a capillary evaporator for vaporizing a liquid refrigerant by absorbing heat from a warm body part, a condenser for turning a vaporized refrigerant into a liquid by transferring heat from the vaporized liquid to a cool body part, a first tube section connecting an output port of the capillary evaporator to an input of the condenser, and a second tube section connecting an output of the condenser to an input port of the capillary evaporator. A wick may be provided within the condenser. A pump may be provided between the second tube section and the input port of the capillary evaporator. Additionally, an esternal heat source or heat sink may be utilized.

Swanson, Theodore D.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Heat pipe cooled probe

The basic heat pipe principle is employed to provide a self-contained passively cooled probe that may be placed into a high temperature environment. The probe consists of an evaporator region of a heat pipe and a sensing instrument. Heat is absorbed as the working fluid evaporates in the probe. The vapor is transported to the vapor space of the condenser region. Heat is dissipated from the condenser region and fins causing condensation of the working fluid, which returns to the probe by gravity and the capillary action of the wick. Working fluid, wick and condenser configurations and structure materials can be selected to maintain the probe within an acceptable temperature range.

Camarda, C. J.↗
NASA NTRS1972

An analytical and experimental investigation of rotating, non-capillary heat pipes

An approximate theoretical model is derived for laminar film condensation on the inside of a rotating, truncated cone, and is used to predict the heat transfer performance of rotating, non-capillary heat pipes for a wide variety of parametric conditions. Experimental results are presented for water, ethyl alcohol, and freon-113 in a stainless steel heat pipe rotating to speeds of 2800 rpm. Results show that these devices can be used effectively to transfer large quantities of heat in rotating systems. Predicted results agree to within + or - 20 percent of the experimental data. Dropwise condensation, instead of film condensation, improves heat pipe performance while the presence of non-condensible gases impairs performance.

Marto, P. J.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Capillary Pumped Loop 3 Flight Experiment Overview

The Capillary Pumped Loop 3 (CAPL 3) Experiment is a follow on to the CAPL 1 and CAPL 2 experiments which flew on STS-60 (2/94) and STS-69 (9/95), respectively. CAPL 3 is tentatively scheduled to fly on the Space Shuttle in late 2000 as part of the Hitchhiker Experiments Advancing Technology (HEAT) payload. The experiment is a joint Naval Research Laboratory (NRL)/Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) payload which will meet technology objectives for both the Department of Defense and NASA. The primary objective of CAPL 3 is to demonstrate in space a multiple evaporator capillary pumped loop system, capable of reliable start-up, reliable continuous operation, and at least 50% heat load sharing with hardware for a deployable radiator. CAPL 3 is a full scale CPL system with four parallel capillary evaporators. The loop also contains a capillary starter pump, 8 parallel direct condensation condensers with associated flow regulators, a back pressure regulator, a two-phase reservoir, and various headers and transport tubing. A variable conductance heat pipe is located between one of the evaporators and the experiment radiator to provide a cooling source for the demonstration of heat load sharing. The experiment has an operating power range of 100 W to approximately 1400 W. The experiment ammonia charge will cause it to transition to a fixed conductance mode of operation if the radiator usage reaches 85%. Ambient functional tests have been performed on the experiment. Tests performed included start-up, low power, power cycles, high power, heat load sharing, variable/fixed conductance transition, saturation temperature changes, and pressure primes while the system was operating. The majority of the testing was performed at an ammonia saturation temperature of 30C, but a few tests were done at temperatures above and below this. The testing was highly successful. Details of the tests performed and a discussion of the results will be given in the presentation.

Ottenstein, Laura↗