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Research Containing: microgavity

Capillary Wetting Analysis of the CFE-Vane Gap Geometry

by on 9 June 2015in Physical Sciences No comment

The Vane Gap Capillary Flow Experiments are part of a suite of low-g experiments flown onboard the International Space Station to observe critical wetting phenomena in ‘large length scale’ capillary systems. The Vane Gap geometry consists of a right cylinder with elliptic cross-section and a single central vane that does not contact the container walls. The vane is slightly asymmetric so that two gaps between the vane and container wall are not of the same size. In this study, we identify the critical wetting conditions of this geometry using the Concus-Finn method for both perfectly and partially wetting fluids as a function of container asymmetry. In a cylindrical container in zero-g, single-valued finite height equilibrium capillary surfaces fail to exist if a critical wetting condition is satisfied. This nonexistence results in significant redistribution of the fluids in the container. It will be shown that there could be three critical geometric wetting conditions that include one in each gap region and one for a global shift of bulk fluid which, among the three, is the most significant.

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3-D Flow Measurement of Oscillatory Thermocapillary Convection in Liquid Bridge in MEIS

by on 9 June 2015in Physical Sciences No comment

Marangoni Experiment in Space (MEIS) has been conducted in the International Space Station (ISS) in order to clarify the transition processes of thermocapillary convection in liquid bridges. The use of microgravity allows us to generate long liquid bridges, 30mm in diameter and up to 60mm in length. Several flow visualization techniques have been applied to those large liquid bridges. 3-D PTV is used to reveal highly three-dimensional flow patterns that appear after the transition. Three CCD cameras are used to observe the motions of the tracer particles from different view angles through the transparent heated disk made of sapphire. Particle images are recorded in the HDD recording system in ISSand they are downloaded to the ground for data analysis. A conventional 3-D PTV technique and a newly-developed multi-frame particle tracking method are combined to obtain the results that can help better understanding of oscillatory 3-D flow fields in the liquid bridges. It is shown that the flow pattern changes from a 2-D axisymmetric steady flow to an oscillatory 3-D non-axisymmetric flow under the supercritical conditions.

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Pool Boiling Heat Transfer on the International Space Station: Experimental Results and Model Verification

by on 9 June 2015in Physical Sciences No comment

The relatively poor understanding of gravity effects on pool boiling heat transfer can be attributed to the lack of long duration high-quality microgravity data, g-jitter associated with ground-based low gravity facilities, little data at intermediate gravity levels, and a poor understanding of the effect of important parameters even at earth gravity conditions. The results of over 200 pool boiling experiments with n-perfluorohexane as the test fluid performed aboard the International Space Station (ISS) are presented in this paper. A flat, transparent, constant temperature microheater array was used to perform experiments over a wide range of temperatures (55 °C < Tw  < 107.5 °C), pressures (0.58 atm < P < 1.86 atm), subcoolings (1 °C ≤ ΔTsub ≤ 26 °C), and heater sizes (4.2 mm ≤ Lh ≤ 7.0 mm). The boiling process was visualized from the side and bottom. Based on this high quality microgravity data (a/g<10−6 ), the recently reported gravity scaling parameter for heat flux, which was primarily based on parabolic flight experiments, was modified to account for these new results. The updated model accurately predicts the experimental microgravity data to within ±20%. The robustness of this framework in predicting low gravity heat transfer is further demonstrated by predicting many of the trends in the pool boiling literature that cannot be explained by any single model.

Related URLs:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1115/1.4006846

Experimental and numerical analysis of mass transfer in a binary mixture with Soret effect in the presence of weak convection

by on 9 June 2015in Physical Sciences No comment

One of the targets of the experiment IVIDIL (Influence Vibrations on Diffusion in Liquids) conducted on-board ISS was to study the response of binary mixtures to vibrational forcing when the density gradient results from thermal and compositional variations. Compositional variations were created by the Soret effect and can strengthen or weaken the overall density gradient and, consequently, the response to vibrational forcing. We present the results of two experimental runs conducted on-board ISS in the frame of the experiment IVIDIL for low and strong vibrational forcing. The experimental observations revealed that a significant mean flow is set within 2 minutes after imposing vibrations and later in time it varies weakly and slowly due to the Soret effect. A mathematical model has been developed to compute the thermal and concentration fields in the experiment IVIDIL and verify the accuracy of picture processing based on the classical approach used in non-convective systems with the Soret effect. The effect of temperature and concentrations perturbations by joint action of vibrational convection and Soret effect on long time scale are carefully examined. The model demonstrates that image processing used for non-convective systems is suitable for the systems with vibration-affected thermodiffusion experiment.

Related URLs:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25274457

Fluid Merging Viscosity Measurement (FMVM) Experiment on the International Space Station

by on 9 June 2015in Physical Sciences No comment

The concept of using low gravity experimental data together with fluid dynamical numerical simulations for measuring the viscosity of highly viscous liquids was recently validated on the International Space Station (ISS). After testing the proof of concept for this method with parabolic flight experiments, an ISS experiment was proposed and later conducted onboard the ISS in July, 2004 and subsequently in May of 2005. In that experiment a series of two liquid drops were brought manually together until they touched and then were allowed to merge under the action of capillary forces alone. The merging process was recorded visually in order to measure the contact radius speed as the merging proceeded. Several liquids were tested and for each liquid several drop diameters were used. It has been shown that when the coefficient of surface tension for the liquid is known, the contact radius speed can then determine the coefficient of viscosity for that liquid. The viscosity is determined by fitting the experimental speed to theoretically calculated contact radius speed for the same experimental parameters. Experimental and numerical results will be presented in which the viscosity of different highly viscous liquids were determined, to a high degree of accuracy, using this technique.

Related URLs:
http://dx.doi.org/10.2514/6.2007-1151

Dependence of the circulation system functioning on cosmonaut age according to the results of physical loading tests on a veloergometer

by on 9 June 2015in Biology & Biotechnology No comment

Age-related hemodynamic reactions to the standard incremental physical loading tests on a cycle ergometer were assessed in cosmonauts before and during extended space missions. Analysis of the data from 353 tests performed with 63 cosmonauts differentiated into three age groups (30–39, 40–49, and 50–55 years old) showed changes in adaptive-compensatory hemodynamic responses to microgravity and physical loading depending on age. The consistent gradual degradation of the heart chronotropic function with age can be interpreted as a symptom of declining cardiovascular reactivity. In orbit, the cardiac output volume depended mainly on heart rate and blood pressure (i.e., vascular tone).

Related URLs:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1134/S0362119713070189

Adaptation of the Skeletal System During Long-Duration Spaceflight

by on 9 June 2015in Biology & Biotechnology No comment

This review will highlight evidence from crew members flown on space missions >90 days to suggest that the adaptations of the skeletal system to mechanical unloading may predispose crew members to an accelerated onset of osteoporosis after return to Earth. By definition, osteoporosis is a skeletal disorder—characterized by low bone mineral density (BMD) and structural deterioration—that reduces the ability of bones to resist fracture under the loading of normal daily activities. “Involutional” or age-related osteoporosis is readily recognized as a syndrome afflicting the elderly population because of the insipid and asymptomatic nature of bone loss that does not typically manifest as fractures until after age ∼60. It is not the thesis of this review to suggest that spaceflight-induced bone loss is similar to bone loss induced by metabolic bone disease; rather this review draws parallels between the rapid and earlier loss in females that occurs with menopause and the rapid bone loss in middle-aged crew members that occurs with spaceflight unloading and how the cumulative effects of spaceflight and ageing could be detrimental, particularly if skeletal effects are totally or partially irreversible. In brief, this report will provide detailed evidence that long-duration crew members, exposed to the weightlessness of space for the typical long-duration (4–6 months) mission on Mir or the International Space Station, (1) display bone resorption that is aggressive, that targets normally weight-bearing skeletal sites, that is uncoupled to bone formation, and that results in areal BMD deficits that can range between 6 and 20% of preflight BMD; (2) display compartment-specific declines in volumetric BMD in the proximal femur (a skeletal site of clinical interest) that significantly reduces its compressive and bending strength and may account for the loss in hip bone strength (i.e., force to failure); (3) recover BMD over a post-flight time period that exceeds spaceflight exposure but for which the restoration of whole bone strength remains an open issue and may involve structural alteration; and (4) display risk factors for bone loss—such as the negative calcium balance and down-regulated calcium-regulating hormones in response to bone atrophy—that can be compounded by the constraints of conducting mission operations (inability to provide essential nutrients and vitamins). The full characterization of the skeletal response to mechanical unloading in space is not complete. In particular, countermeasures used to date have been inadequate, and it is not yet known whether more appropriate countermeasures can prevent the changes in bone that have been found in previous flights. Knowledge gaps related to the effects of prolonged (≥6 months) space exposure and to partial gravity environments are substantial, and longitudinal measurements on crew members after spaceflight are required to assess the full impact on skeletal recovery.

Related URLs:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12018-008-9012-8