Browsing by Author "Alcid, Marian"
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Item A Capillary Fluidic CO2 Scrubber for Spacecraft: the Liquid Amine Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly(2024 International Conference on Environmnetal Systems, 2024-07-21) Torres, Logan; Weislogel, Mark; Chen, Yongkang; Krishcko, Oleg; Jenson, Ryan; Belancik, Grace; Alcid, Marian; Levri, Julie; Hand, Lawrence; Cortez, Adrian; Heavner, Selda; Graf, JohnReliable air revitalization systems are in the critical path of the human exploration of space. The current state of the art regenerable solid sorbent CO2 removal systems have provided decades of service in low-earth orbit. However, certain novel technologies are rapidly developing that purport attractive and essential features for deep space missions: i.e., quiet, reliable, and continuous operation with lower-power, lower-volume, and lower-maintenance expectations. The recently successful ISS flight demonstration of the Capisorb Visible System (CVS) has increased awareness and confidence in the potential application of massively parallelized open-channel capillary fluidic devices and surfaces to perform the largely passive wet CO2 scrubbing air revitalization function. Such approaches have been exploited aboard submarines employing �falling films� for decades with high-affinity amine liquid sorbents (MEA, DGA, etc.), a feat that could be replicated in re-formatted fashion in the microgravity environment of orbiting or coast spacecraft. The Liquid Amines Carbon dioxide Removal (LACR) system is a simple closed loop cycle with a flow-through �thin capillary film� contactor that reacts with and absorbs CO2 directly from the cabin air. The sorbent is then drawn into a second capillary fluidic device where vacuum pressures and elevated temperatures reverse the reaction and degas the liquid, venting, re-routing, or storing the CO2 for subsequent processing. A single pump returns the regenerated sorbent to the contactor for continuous cabin air conditioning. The key components of the LACR system include a Porous-sheet Contactor (absorber), Capillary Conduit Degasser and Separator (desorber), and Capillary Condensing Heat eXchanger (CCHX). The design and function of these devices are reported along with quantitative performance characteristics of loop operation collected during ground tests. Scale-up of the system for a crew of four suggests significant (>2x) reductions in system size, mass, power, and consumables over the current state of the art.Item Air-Cooled Temperature Swing Compression System Rebuild(50th International Conference on Environmental Systems, 7/12/2021) Alcid, Marian; Gan, Kelby; Castellanos, Jonathan; Jan, Darrell; Richardson, Tra-My JustineThe Air-Cooled Temperature Swing Adsorption Compression System (AC-TSAC) was designed to be a viable alternative to the carbon dioxide (CO2) mechanical compressor currently in use on the International Space Station (ISS). The AC-TSAC would be integrated downstream of the Four-Bed Molecular Sieve (4BMS) CO2 removal system and upstream of the Sabatier reactor system. The previous generation of the AC-TSAC system was dismantled and has undergone a significant upgrade to modernize the system and resolve system failures.Item Design for an Integrated Closed-Loop System for Carbon Dioxide Removal Using Diglycolamine(2024 International Conference on Environmnetal Systems, 2024-07-21) Cortez, Adrian; Costa, Tiago; Alcid, Marian; Belancik, GraceCrewed Space missions require maintaining a safe environment that can both sustain a breathable atmosphere and remove airborne pollutants. Carbon dioxide (CO2), while not toxic in low concentrations, accumulates as crew members respire and can eventually affect the crew's health. Therefore, a system to constantly remove CO2 buildup is necessary for long-term missions. Currently, the prevailing method used to capture, transfer, and remove CO2 from air in submarines and industrial flue gas utilizes the liquid sorbent monoethanolamine. Diglycolamine (DGA) is an alternate primary amine that has similar performance with less volatility. DGA is currently being studied at Ames Research Center as the primary candidate for the operation of the sub-scale liquid amine CO2 removal test stand. The test stand is used to investigate liquid flow and liquid/gas interfaces for a system designed for both microgravity and surface applications. The test stand includes a wedge tray design that utilizes capillary action to contain DGA while allowing gas-liquid surface interaction for CO2 transfer. Trays using this wedge design are placed in a contactor unit to remove CO2 from the air stream as well as a degasser unit to regenerate the DGA. A capillary condensing heat exchanger to recapture water evaporated in the degasser unit is also incorporated. Nominal operating conditions for the contactor are an air flow rate of 26 SCFM enriched with pure CO2 to a concentration of 2600 ppm and a liquid mixture of 65/35vol% DGA/H2O flowing at a rate of 0.65 mL/min, while the degasser is operated at 100?C under slight vacuum. Integrated closed-loop operation yielded a final CO2 flux of 0.946 kg/m2/day and a total CO2 capture of 0.192 kg/day. All sub-assemblies in the system can be improved to increase the overall CO2 capture performance.Item Spacecraft Cabin Air Humidity Control Subsystem Development for CO2 Deposition(2024 International Conference on Environmnetal Systems, 2024-07-21) Jagtap, Pranav; Costa, Tiago; Whitlock, Nico; Wells, Jonathan; Gan, Kelby; Alcid, Marian; Belancik, GraceThe CO2 deposition system (CDep) addresses the challenge of an extremely reliable, low maintenance cabin air revitalization system which is required for crewed deep space exploration missions. A cold surface is generated and maintained to selectively deposit CO2 from cabin air. An ionic liquid humidity control system was developed to supply continuous dry air to CDep to provide purer CO2 downstream product which also helps in reduction of required power to generate the cold surface. This system consists of hollow fiber membranes where ionic liquid flows through the lumen side and air flows through the shell side. The system is expected to remove 96% of the humidity from cabin air with minimal power consumption. This paper presents the experimental system design and validation of a numerical study. The experimental validation of this system was conducted using different variable parameters such as inlet relative humidity, flow rate of air and ionic liquid. The results of this humidity control subsystem will have direct impact on the operational design of full-scale system.