| National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) |
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) — Normal Gravity Testing of a Microchannel Phase Separator for Insitu Resource Utilization.
The objective in developing microchannel phase separation technology suitable for space applications is to utilize only capillary, hydrodynamic, and surface forces to remove or recover a dispersed fluid phase from a second immiscible phase-the same principles apply to droplets dispersed in a liquid (emulsion), gas dispersed in a liquid (bubbles), or liquid dispersed in a gas (aerosol). Several technologies have been developed previously for accomplishing phase separations in space. These broadly fall into two categories, static and rotary. Rotary technologies rely on generating artificial body forces either by rotating equipment or by generating vortex flows. Static devices rely on other forces, such as wetting and capillary force, to separate mixed fluid phases. Many of these devices employ wicks and porous materials to achieve separation and to direct the fluids to the appropriate outlets. We are developing a microchannel separator that employs some of the same principles. However, the intent is to enhance the hydrodynamic, capillary, and surface forces by performing the phase separation in channels having a very small hydraulic diameter. Success is measured by achieving very high throughput per unit hardware volume, thereby reducing the size and weight of the hardware required for a given application. We have conducted tests on a microchannel phase separator device that is expected to operate effectively in reduced gravity environments. Hydrodynamic, interfacial, and capillary forces will dominate over gravitational effects in microchannels that are less than 100 microns up to a couple of millimeters.
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