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At least 271 records · Page 15

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DOE OSTI2025

Benchtop-Scale High Temperature Molten Salt Electrochemical Reactors: Experimental Setup and Considerations

Molten salt electrochemical reduction (MSER) is the dominant production method for aluminum and titanium, and emerging technologies for producing other commodity metals with these highly electrified techniques have demonstrated promising results. However, the scale up of MSER of materials such as iron and silicon are limited by the challenging issues of materials compatibility and impurity control. This work describes an experimental MSER setup using both chloride and carbonate salts. This setup is designed for operations outside of a glovebox, which is practical from an industrial perspective, but creates unique challenges. This work serves as a practical guide to discuss some key operational difficulties such as temperature control, air and humidity, material compatibility, developing strong electrical measurements and techniques, and safety.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

NASA NTRS1986

Servicing of user payload equipment in the Space Station pressurized environment

NASA Space Station servicing support facilities will include both pressurized and unpressurized work areas. While the latter will allow astronauts operating in EVAs or aided by robots to accomplish Orbital Replacement Unit (ORU) and instrument changes, tests, assembly, refueling, and repairs, the former will furnish astronauts engaged in work requiring intravehicular activities (IVAs) the ability to enter through an airlock into a module in which they can more carefully service ORUs. Baseline IVA accommodations encompass (1) a staging/assembly area for ORUs brought in from satellites, orbital platforms or attached payloads, (2) a work station for monitoring and control of the external Servicing Bay facility, and (3) a large, laminar flow workbench which would provide highly controlled conditions, as well as (4) a 'glovebox' for delicate servicing and (5) an assortment of hand tools and test equipment.

Levy, Joel↗

NASA NTRS1989

Human factors issues in performing life science experiments in a 0-G environment

An overview of the environmental conditions within the Spacelab and the planned Space Station Freedom is presented. How this environment causes specific Human Factors problems and the nature of design solutions are described. The impact of these problems and solutions on the performance of life science activities onboard Spacelab (SL) and Space Station Freedom (SSF) is discussed. The first area highlighted is contamination. The permanence of SSF in contrast to the two-week mission of SL has significant impacts on crew and specimen protection requirements and, thus, resource utilization. These requirements, in turn impose restrictions on working volumes, scheduling, training, and scope of experimental procedures. A second area is microgravity. This means that all specimens, materials, and apparatus must be restrained and carefully controlled. Because so much of the scientific activity must occur within restricted enclosures (gloveboxes), the provisions for restraint and control are made more complex. The third topic is crewmember biomechanics and the problems of movement and task performance in microgravity. In addition to the need to stabilize the body for the performance of tasks, performance of very sensitive tasks such as dissection is difficult. The issue of space sickness and adaption is considered in this context.

Gonzalez, Wayne↗

NASA NTRS1989

Usability testing and requirements derivation for EMU-compatible electrical connectors

On-orbit servicing of payloads is simplified when a spacecraft has been designed for serviceability. A key design criterion for a serviceable spaceraft is standardization of electrical connectors. This paper investigates the effects of extravehicular mobility unit (EMU) glove size, connector size, and connector type on usability of electrical connectors. An experiment was conducted exploring participants' ability to mate and demate connectors in an evacuated glovebox. Independent variables were two EMU glove-sizes, five connector size groups, and seven connector types. Significant differences in performance times and heart rate changes during mate and demate operations were found. Subjective assessments of connectors were collected from participants with a usability questionnaire. The data were used to derive design recommendations for a NASA-recommended EMU-compatible electrical connector.

Reaux, Ray A.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Facilities for animal research in space with special reference to Space Station Freedom

The facilities being planned for animal research on Space Station Freedom are considered in the context of the development of animal habitats from early ballistic and orbital flights to long-term missions aimed at more detailed scientific studies of the effects of space conditions on the vertebrate organism. Animal habitats are becoming more elaborate, requiring systems for environmental control, waste management, physiological monitoring, as well as ancillary facilities such as a 1-G control centrifuge and a glovebox. Habitats in use or to be used in various types of manned and unmanned spacecraft, and particularly those planned for Space Station Freedom, are described. The characteristics of the habitats are compared with each other and with current standards for animal holding facilities on the ground.

Bonting, Sjoerd L.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Centrifuge Facility Conceptual System Study. Volume 1: Facility overview and habitats

The results are presented for a NASA Phase 1 study conducted from mid 1987 through mid 1989 at Ames Research Center. The Centrifuge Facility is the major element of the biological research facility for the implementation of NASA's Life Science Research Program on Space Station Freedom using non-human specimens (such as small primates, rodents, plants, insects, cell tissues). Five systems are described which comprise the Facility: habitats, holding units, centrifuge, glovebox, and service unit. Volume 1 presents a facility overview and describes the habitats - modular units which house living specimens.

Synnestvedt, Robert↗

NASA NTRS1989

Ames life science telescience testbed evaluation

Eight surrogate spaceflight mission specialists participated in a real-time evaluation of remote coaching using the Ames Life Science Telescience Testbed facility. This facility consisted of three remotely located nodes: (1) a prototype Space Station glovebox; (2) a ground control station; and (3) a principal investigator's (PI) work area. The major objective of this project was to evaluate the effectiveness of telescience techniques and hardware to support three realistic remote coaching science procedures: plant seed germinator charging, plant sample acquisition and preservation, and remote plant observation with ground coaching. Each scenario was performed by a subject acting as flight mission specialist, interacting with a payload operations manager and a principal investigator expert. All three groups were physically isolated from each other yet linked by duplex audio and color video communication channels and networked computer workstations. Workload ratings were made by the flight and ground crewpersons immediately after completing their assigned tasks. Time to complete each scientific procedural step was recorded automatically. Two expert observers also made performance ratings and various error assessments. The results are presented and discussed.

Haines, Richard F.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Animal research facility for Space Station Freedom

An integrated animal research facility is planned by NASA for Space Station Freedom which will permit long-term, man-tended experiments on the effects of space conditions on vertebrates. The key element in this facility is a standard type animal habitat which supports and maintains the animals under full bioisolation during transport and during the experiment. A holding unit accommodates the habitats with animals to be maintained at zero gravity; and a centrifuge, those to be maintained at artificial gravity for control purposes or for gravity threshold studies. A glovebox permits handling of the animals for experimental purposes and for transfer to a clean habitat. These facilities are described, and the aspects of environmental control, monitoring, and bioisolation are discussed.

Bonting, Sjoerd L.↗

NASA NTRS1991

The centrifuge facility - A life sciences research laboratory for Space Station Freedom

The paper describes the centrifugal facility that is presently being developed by NASA for studies aboard the Space Station Freedom on the role of gravity, or its absence, at varying intensities for varying periods of time and with multiple model systems. Special attention is given to the design of the centrifuge system, the habitats designed to hold plants and animals, the glovebox system designed for experimental manipulations of the specimens, and the service unit. Studies planned for the facility will include experiments in the following disciplines: cell and developmental biology, plant biology, regulatory physiology, musculoskeletal physiology, behavior and performance, neurosciences, cardiopulmonary physiology, and environmental health and radiation.

Fuller, Charles A.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Test program, helium II orbital resupply coupling

The full scope of this program was to have included development tests, design and production of custom test equipment and acceptance and qualification testing of prototype and protoflight coupling hardware. This program was performed by Ball Aerospace Systems Division, Boulder, Colorado until its premature termination in May 1991. Development tests were performed on cryogenic face seals and flow control devices at superfluid helium (He II) conditions. Special equipment was developed to allow quantified leak detection at large leak rates up to 8.4 x 10(exp -4) SCCS. Two major fixtures were developed and characterized: The Cryogenic Test Fixture (CTF) and the Thermal Mismatch Fixture (Glovebox). The CTF allows the coupling hardware to be filled with liquid nitrogen (LN2), liquid helium (LHe) or sub-cooled liquid helium when hardware flow control valves are either open or closed. Heat leak measurements, internal and external helium leakage measurements, cryogenic proof pressure tests and external load applications are performed in this fixture. Special reusable MLI closures were developed to provide repeatable installations in the CTF. The Thermal Mismatch Fixture allows all design configurations of coupling hardware to be engaged and disengaged while measuring applied forces and torques. Any two hardware components may be individually thermally preconditioned within the range of 117 deg K to 350 deg K prior to engage/disengage cycling. This verifies dimensional compatibility and operation when thermally mismatched. A clean, dry GN2 atmosphere is maintained in the fixture at all times. The first shipset of hardware was received, inspected and cycled at room temperature just prior to program termination.

Hyatt, William S.↗

NASA NTRS1991

The First United States Microgravity Laboratory

The United States Microgravity Laboratory (USML-1) is one part of a science and technology program that will open NASA's next great era of discovery and establish the United States' leadership in space. A key component in the preparation for this new age of exploration, the USML-1 will fly in orbit for extended periods, providing greater opportunities for research in materials science, fluid dynamics, biotechnology, and combustion science. The major components of the USML-1 are the Crystal Growth Furnace, the Surface Tension Driven Convection Experiment (STDCE) Apparatus, and the Drop Physics Module. Other components of USML-1 include Astroculture, Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus, Extended Duration Orbiter Medical Project, Protein Crystal Growth, Space Acceleration Measurement System, Solid Surface Combustion Experiment, Zeolite Crystal Growth and Spacelab Glovebox provided by the European Space Agency.

Powers, C. Blake↗

NASA NTRS1993

NASA PPO microgravity projects support

Work progress is reported in brief. A summary of this information is provided below. An in-depth study was performed to evaluate a new European designed Borack Freezer/Cooler for possible shuttle middeck flight to support advanced protein crystal growth (APCG) experimentation. A statement of work was prepared for the design and development of a glovebox for proposed flight in the shuttle middeck. Work was also initiated to perform an analysis of low-g accelerometer data relative to Fluid Experiment System (FES) experiment options on the IML-1 mission. This work was undertaken in an effort to determine if abnormally low-g accelerations during the mission were responsible for anomalies which occurred during FES/Triglycine Sulfate (TGS) experiment operations. A comprehensive review was made on a revised edition of the Geophysical Fluid Flow Cell (GFFC) Operations and Maintenance (O&M) Manual.

Smith, Janice F.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Research opportunities with the Centrifuge Facility

The Centrifuge Facility on Space Station Freedom will consist of a 2.5-meter diameter Centrifuge accommodating two concentric rings of habitats and providing variable g-forces between 0.01 g and 2.0 g; modular habitats providing housing and lifesupport for rats, mice, and plants; a habitat holding system providing power, water, airflow and other utilities to several modular habitats; and a life sciences glovebox, an isolated work volume accommodating simultaneous operations by at least two scientists and providing lighting, airflow, video and data access, and other experiment support functions. The centrifuge facility will enable long-duration animal and plant microgravity research not previously possible in the NASA flight research program. It will offer unprecedented opportunities for use of on-board 1-g control populations and statistically significant numbers of specimens. On orbit 1-g controls will allow separation of the effects of microgravity from other environmental factors. Its selectable-g and simultaneous multiple-g capabilities will enable studies of gravitational thresholds, the use of artificial gravity as a countermeasure to the effects of microgravity, and ready simulation of Lunar and Martian gravities.

Funk, Glenn A.↗

NASA NTRS1993

The Biological Flight Research Facility

NASA Ames Research Center (ARC) is building a research facility, the Biological Flight Research Facility (BFRF), to meet the needs of life scientists to study the long-term effects of variable gravity on living systems. The facility will be housed on Space Station Freedom and is anticipated to operate for the lifetime of the station, approximately thirty years. It will allow plant and animal biologists to study the role of gravity, or its absence, at varying gravity intensities for varying periods of time and with various organisms. The principal difference between current Spacelab missions and those on Space Station Freedom, other than length of mission, will be the capability to perform on-orbit science procedures and the capability to simulate earth gravity. Initially the facility will house plants and rodents in habitats which can be maintained at microgravity or can be placed on a 2.5 meter diameter centrifuge. However, the facility is also being designed to accommodate future habitats for small primates, avian, and aquatic specimens. The centrifuge will provide 1 g for controls and will also be able to provide gravity from 0.01 to 2.0 g for threshold gravity studies as well as hypergravity studies. Included in the facility are a service unit for providing clean chambers for the specimens and a glovebox for manipulating the plant and animal specimens and for performing experimental protocols. The BFRF will provide the means to conduct basic experiments to gain an understanding of the effects of microgravity on the structure and function of plants and animals, as well as investigate the role of gravity as a potential countermeasure for the physiological changes observed in microgravity.

Johnson, Catherine C.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Flocculation and aggregation in a microgravity environment (FAME)

An experiment to study flocculation phenomena in the constrained microgravity environment of a space shuttle or space station is described. The small size and light weight experiment easily fits in a Spacelab Glovebox. Using an integrated fiber optic dynamic light scattering (DLS) system we obtain high precision particle size measurements from dispersions of colloidal particles within seconds, needs no onboard optical alignment, no index matching fluid, and offers sample mixing and shear melting capabilities to study aggregation (flocculation and coagulation) phenomena under both quiescent and controlled agitation conditions. The experimental system can easily be adapted for other microgravity experiments requiring the use of DLS. Preliminary results of ground-based study are reported.

Ansari, Rafat R.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Fluids flight hardware

The following are discussed in this viewgraph presentation: Glovebox-2 investigations, study of oscillatory thermocapillary flows and validate physical models on the second U.S. Microgravity Laboratory Mission (USML-2), pool boiling experiment, critical fluid viscosity measurement experiment, Hitchhiker-G typical structural configuration, ZENO-critical fluid light scattering experiment, isothermal dendritic growth experiment, microgravity acceleration environment support, and the space acceleration measurement system (SAMS).

Shaw, Nancy↗

NASA NTRS1995

Estimates of effects of residual acceleration on USML-1 experiments

The purpose of this study effort was to develop analytical models to describe the effects of residual accelerations on the experiments to be carried on the first U.S. Microgravity Lab mission (USML-1) and to test the accuracy of these models by comparing the pre-flight predicted effects with the post-flight measured effects. After surveying the experiments to be performed on USML-1, it became evident that the anticipated residual accelerations during the USML-1 mission were well below the threshold for most of the primary experiments and all of the secondary (Glovebox) experiments and that the only set of experiments that could provide quantifiable effects, and thus provide a definitive test of the analytical models, were the three melt growth experiments using the Bridgman-Stockbarger type Crystal Growth Furnace (CGF). This class of experiments is by far the most sensitive to low level quasi-steady accelerations that are unavoidable on space craft operating in low earth orbit. Because of this, they have been the drivers for the acceleration requirements imposed on the Space Station. Therefore, it is appropriate that the models on which these requirements are based are tested experimentally. Also, since solidification proceeds directionally over a long period of time, the solidified ingot provides a more or less continuous record of the effects from acceleration disturbances.

Naumann, Robert J.↗

NASA NTRS1995

A Fundamental Study of Smoldering with Emphasis on Experimental Design for Zero-G

A research program to study smoldering combustion with emphasis on the design of an experiment to be conducted in the space shuttle was conducted at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley. The motivation of the research is the interest in smoldering both as a fundamental combustion problem and as a serious fire risk. Research conducted included theoretical and experimental studies that have brought considerable new information about smolder combustion, the effect that buoyancy has on the process, and specific information for the design of a space experiment. Experiments were conducted at normal gravity, in opposed and forward mode of propagation and in the upward and downward direction to determine the effect and range of influence of gravity on smolder. Experiments were also conducted in microgravity, in a drop tower and in parabolic aircraft flights, where the brief microgravity periods were used to analyze transient aspects of the problem. Significant progress was made on the study of one-dimensional smolder, particularly in the opposed-flow configuration. These studies provided enough information to design a small-scale space-based experiment that was successfully conducted in the Spacelab Glovebox in the June 1992 USML-1/STS-50 mission of the Space Shuttle Columbia.

Fernandez-Pello, Carlos↗