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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 73 records · Page 4
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2016

Design Status of the Capillary Brine Residual in Containment Water Recovery System

One of the goals of the AES Life Support System (LSS) Project is to achieve 98% water loop closure for long duration human exploration missions beyond low Earth orbit. To meet this objective, the AES LSS Project is developing technologies to recover water from wastewater brine; highly concentrated waste products generated from a primary water recovery system. The state of the art system used aboard the International Space Station (ISS) has the potential to recover up to 85% water from unine wastewater, leaving a significant amounts of water in the waste brine, the recovery of which is a critical technology gap that must be filled in order to enable long duration human exploration. Recovering water from the urine wastewater brine is complicated by the concentration of solids as water is removed from the brine, and the concentration of the corrosive, toxic chemicals used to stabilize the urine which fouls and degrades water processing hardware, and poses a hazard to operators and crew. Brine Residual in Containment (BRIC) is focused on solids management through a process of "in-place" drying - the drying of brines within the container used for final disposal. Application of in-place drying has the potential to improve the safety and reliability of the system by reducing the exposure to crew and hardware to the problematic brine residual. Through a collaboration between the NASA Johnson Space Center and Portland Status University, a novel water recovery system was developed that utilizes containment geometry to support passive capillary flow and static phase separation allowing free surface evaporation to take place in a microgravity environment. A notional design for an ISS demonstration system was developed. This paper describes the concept for the system level design.

Callahan, Michael R.↗
NASA NTRS2009

Status of the Regenerative ECLSS Water Recovery System

NASA has completed the delivery of the regenerative Water Recovery System (WRS) for the International Space Station (ISS). The major assemblies included in this system are the Water Processor Assembly (WPA) and Urine Processor Assembly (UPA). This paper summarizes the final effort to deliver the hardware to the Kennedy Space Center for launch on STS-126, the on-orbit status as of April 2009, and describes some of the technical challenges encountered and lessons learned over the past year.

Carter, Donald Layne↗
NASA NTRS1973

Cost analysis of water recovery systems

A methodology was developed to predict the relevant contributions of the more intangible cost elements encountered in the development of flight-qualified hardware based on an extrapolation of past hardware development experience. Major items of costs within water recovery systems were identified and related to physical and/or performance criteria. Cost and performance data from Gemini, Skylab, and other aerospace and biotechnology programs were analyzed to identify major cost elements required to establish cost estimating relationships for advanced water recovery systems. The results of the study are expected to assist NASA in long-range planning and allocation of resources in a cost effective manner in support of earth orbital programs. This report deals with the cost analysis of the five leading water reclamation systems, namely: (1) RITE waste management-water system, (2) reverse osmosis system, (3) multifiltration system, (4) vapor compression system, and (5) closed air evaporation system with electrolytic pretreatment.

Yakut, M. M.↗
NASA NTRS1974

Vacuum distillation/vapor filtration water recovery

The development and evaluation of a vacuum distillation/vapor filtration (VD/VF) water recovery system are considered. As a functional model, the system converts urine and condensates waste water from six men to potable water on a steady-state basis. The system is designed for 180-day operating durations and for function on the ground, on zero-g aircraft, and in orbit. Preparatory tasks are summarized for conducting low gravity tests of a vacuum distillation/vapor filtration system for recovering water from urine.

Honegger, R. J.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Application of improved technology to a preprototype vapor compression distillation /VCD/ water recovery subsystem

Vapor compression distillation (VCD) is considered the most efficient water recovery process for spacecraft application. This paper reports on a preprototype VCD which has undergone the most extensive operational and component development testing of any VCD subsystem to date. The component development effort was primarily aimed at eliminating corrosion and the need for lubrication, upgrading electronics, and substituting nonmetallics in key rotating components. The VCD evolution is documented by test results on specific design and/or materials changes. Innovations worthy of further investigation and additional testing are summarized for future VCD subsystem development reference. Conclusions on experience gained are presented.

Johnson, K. L.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Status of the International Space Station Regenerative ECLSS Water Recovery and Oxygen Generation Systems

NASA is developing three racks containing regenerative water recovery and oxygen generation systems (WRS and OGS) for deployment on the International Space Station (ISS). The major assemblies included in these racks are the Water Processor Assembly (WPA), Urine Processor Assembly (UPA), Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA), and the Power Supply Module (PSM) supporting the OGA. The WPA and OGA are provided by Hamilton Sundstrand Space Systems International (HSSSI), Inc., while the UPA and PSM are developed in- house by the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). The assemblies have completed the manufacturing phase and are in various stages of testing and integration into the flight racks. This paper summarizes the status as of April 2005 and describes some of the technical challenges encountered and lessons learned over the past year.

Bagdigian, Robert M.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Water recovery and management test support modeling for Space Station Freedom

The water-recovery and management (WRM) subsystem proposed for the Space Station Freedom program is outlined, and its computerized modeling and simulation based on a Computer Aided System Engineering and Analysis (CASE/A) program are discussed. A WRM test model consisting of a pretreated urine processing (TIMES), hygiene water processing (RO), RO brine processing using TIMES, and hygiene water storage is presented. Attention is drawn to such end-user equipment characteristics as the shower, dishwasher, clotheswasher, urine-collection facility, and handwash. The transient behavior of pretreated-urine, RO waste-hygiene, and RO brine tanks is assessed, as well as the total input/output to or from the system. The model is considered to be beneficial for pretest analytical predictions as a program cost-saving feature.

Mohamadinejad, Habib↗
NASA NTRS1991

Hydraulic model of the proposed Water Recovery and Management system for Space Station Freedom

A model of the Water Recovery and Management (WRM) system utilizing SINDA '85/FLUINT to determine its hydraulic operation characteristics, and to verify the design flow and pressure drop parameters is presented. The FLUINT analysis package is employed in the model to determine the flow and pressure characteristics when each of the different loop components is operational and contributing to the overall flow pattern. The water is driven in each loop by storage tanks pressurized with cabin air, and is routed through the system to the desired destination.

Martin, Charles E.↗
NASA NTRS2015

Development of a Low Toxicity Urine Pretreatment for Water Recovery in Space

Wastewater stabilization was an essential component of the spacecraft water cycle. The purpose of stabilizing wastewater was two-fold. First, stabilization prevents the breakdown of urea into ammonia, a toxic gas at high concentrations. Second, it prevents the growth of microorganisms, thereby mitigating hardware and water quality issues due to due biofilm and planktonic growth. Current stabilization techniques involve oxidizers and strong acids (pH=2) such as chromic and sulfuric acid, which are highly toxic and pose a risk to crew health. The purpose of this effort was to explore less toxic stabilization techniques, such as food-grade and commercial care preservatives. Additionally, certain preservatives were tested in the presence of a low-toxicity organic acid. Triplicate 300-mL volumes of urine were dosed with a predetermined quantity of stabilizer and stored for two weeks. During that time, pH, total organic carbon (TOC), ammonia, and turbidity were monitored. Those preservatives that showed the lowest visible microbial growth and stable pH were further tested in a six-month stability study. The results of the six-month study are also included in this paper. Additionally, the pretreatment formulations were tested to determine if the pretreated urine could be distilled to remove 85% of the water, as would occur on the ISS. The goal of the pretreatment was to produce no solids in the resulting brine at 85% water recovery.

Adam, Niklas↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

A Fecal Processing Technology Trade Study for Water Recovery in Various Mission Duration Scenarios

To achieve long endurance human space missions such as a trip to Mars, a fully recycled or “closed loop” water system is almost essential. Even for shorter duration missions in Earth orbit, lunar orbit, or on the surface of the moon, recovering and recycling water from as many sources as possible may prove beneficial. One source of water that has not been exploited to date is human solid waste. Herein, a trade study is performed to evaluate the ability of several fecal processing technologies to recover >80% of the water content within the waste. Human solid waste (feces) contains approximately 75% water by mass, which upon quantification, translates to ~170 g of recoverable water per crewmember per day and can scale to values of ~680 kg for a crew of 4 persons on a 1,000-day long exploration mission. Several fecal processing technologies (i.e., steam reforming, vacuum drying, freeze-drying, pyrolysis, ultrasonic drying, etc.) are analyzed using an equivalent system mass (ESM) approach to assess and compare the estimated cost for recovering fecal water – in terms of mass, power, and volume equivalents – against the water recovery mass savings for each technology. Post-use volume is also used as a secondary metric for comparison to quantify the benefits of volume reduction resulting from the fecal drying process. From said analysis, clear patterns and benefits emerge that may prove helpful for future fecal processing technology development and application to space exploration missions.

Trade study↗
NASA NTRS1992

Determination of organic carbon and ionic accountability of various waste and product waters derived from ECLSS water recovery tests and Spacelab humidity condensate

The development of a closed-loop water recovery system for Space Station Freedom involves many technical challenges associated with contaminant removal. Attention is presently given to the characterization of contaminants constituting total organic carbon (TOC), and to the Hubaux and Vos (1970) statistical model for low level TOC that has been employed. A tabulation is given for TOC accountability in the case of both potable and hygiene waters.

Carter, Donald L.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Preliminary Feasibility Testing of the BRIC Brine Water Recovery Concept

The Brine Residual In-Containment (BRIC) concept was developed as a new technology to recover water from spacecraft wastewater brines. Such capability is considered critical to closing the water loop and achieving a sustained human presence in space. The intention of the BRIC concept is to increase the robustness and efficiency of the dewatering process by performing drying inside the container used for the final disposal of the residual brine solid. Recent efforts in the development of BRIC have focused on preliminary feasibility testing using a laboratory- assembled pre-prototype unit. Observations of the drying behavior of actual brine solutions processed under BRIC-like conditions has been of particular interest. To date, experiments conducted with three types of analogue spacecraft wastewater brines have confirmed the basic premise behind the proposed application of in-place drying for these solutions. Specifically, the dried residual mass from these solutions have tended to exhibit characteristics of adhesion and flow that are expected to continue to challenge process stream management in spacecraft brine dewatering system designs. Yet, these same characteristics may favor the development of capillary- and surface-tension-based approaches envisioned as part of an ultimate microgravity-compatible BRIC design. In addition, preliminary feasibility testing of the BRIC pre-prototype confirmed that high rates of water recovery, up to 98% of the available brine water, may be possible while still removing the majority of the brine contaminants from the influent brine stream. These and other observations from testing are reported.

Callahan, Michael R.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Development of a preprototype hyperfiltration wash water recovery subsystem

The use of hyperfiltration as a mode of reclamation of waste water on board an extended mission spacecraft was investigated. Two basic approaches are considered with respect to hyperfiltration of wash water recovery. The initial approach involves the use of a hollow fiber permeator and a tubular module, operating at ambient temperature. In this system, relatively large doses of biocides are used to control microbial activity. Since biocides require a long contact time, and many have adverse dematological effects as well as many interact with membrane material, a second approach is considered which involves operating at pasturization temperature.

Source record↗