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The Design of an Experimental Parabolic Flight Apparatus to Measure the Volume of Gas Bubbles as They Detach from a Solid Substrate Submerged in a Liquid in Partial Gravity Environments
Abstract
The launch of NASA’s Artemis 1 mission on November 16, 2022, brought mankind one step closer to returning to the surface of the Moon. The Artemis Lunar missions present a new architecture in which astronauts will land on the Lunar South Pole, live in surface habitats, execute multiple Extravehicular Activities (EVAs), and utilize in-situ resources (ISRU). The design of new life support systems, cryogenic fuel storage systems, and ISRU processes requires new research to understand how reduced gravity (e.g. the 1/6th g Lunar or 3/8th g Martian) affects two-phase fluid physics, particularly when a liquid is in contact with solid surfaces of varying surface energies. Gravity-driven buoyancy is known to be the dominant force for two-phase fluids on earth. However, in a microgravity environment, surface tension is the dominant force. The balance between buoyancy and surface tension/energy is largely unexplored research for the gravity environments of the Moon and Mars, although this knowledge is fundamental to understanding heat and mass transfer on the Lunar or Martian surface.
Professor B. J. Dunbar and her research team developed a computational fluid dynamic (CFD) model to predict the volume of a gas bubble separating from substrates of various surface energies submerged in liquids as a function of the gravitational level – a balance between buoyancy and surface tension. This model was validated with a 1 g laboratory experiment for various low and high-surface energy materials. However, validation for hypo-gravity, such as those of the Moon and Mars, requires collection of empirical data. This thesis presents the new design of a two-phase fluid physics experimental instrument which will be flown on board the Zero-G parabolic aircraft, collecting data at Lunar and Martian gravity levels. The design includes four experimental chambers, optimizes software for experiment control and data analyses, and integrates eight multiaxis high-speed C-MOS imaging systems. The results of the flight system safety loads analyses and flight procedures are also presented.
Subject
Partial Gravity BuoyancyTwo-phase Fluids Physics
Parabolic Flight
In-Situ Resource Utilization
Life Support System
Cryogenic Fuel Management
Submerged Orifice
Citation
Kaercher, Jadon (2023). The Design of an Experimental Parabolic Flight Apparatus to Measure the Volume of Gas Bubbles as They Detach from a Solid Substrate Submerged in a Liquid in Partial Gravity Environments. Master's thesis, Texas A&M University. Available electronically from https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /199091.