Browsing by Author "Burke, Kenneth"
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Item Comprehensive 3D Multiphysics Model on Electrochemical Recovery of O2 from metabolic CO2 at the International Space Station (ISS)(2023 International Conference on Environmental Systems, 2023-07-16) Dominguez, Jesus; McCall, Shannon; Reidy, Lorlyn; Crawford, Kagen; Oliver-Butler, Kaitlin; Black, Cara; Brown, Brittany; Dennis, Brian; Chanmanee, Wilaiwan; Fillion, Joseph; Burke, KennethThe International Space Station (ISS) is presently equipped with an elaborate, heavy, and high-power consuming system that recovers approximately 50% of O2 from metabolic CO2 as part of the atmospheric revitalization (AR) at the ISS habitat. Future long-duration missions will require a more sustainable and efficient system capable of yielding a minimum of 75% O2 recovery to reach the self-sufficiency required for long-duration space missions beyond Earth’s low orbit. A Microfluidic Electrochemical Reactor (MFECR) technology development effort is currently underway at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) to not only increase significantly current O2 recovery efficiency, improving self-sufficiency on AR at the ISS habitat and future long-duration missions, but also reduce system complexity. The authors have developed and deployed a comprehensive 3D multiphysics model that thoroughly replicates the actual configuration and fluid/material domains of the MFECR. The coupled physics in this multiphysics model include multicomponent-multiphase electrochemical-driven reactions, non-ideal mass transport mechanism, free and porous flow, heat transfer, CO2 solubility on alkaline electrolyte, water condensation on porous medium, and DC electrical current generation along with Joule heating effect. This model is aimed to conduct qualitative benchmark on three different MFECR layouts, one without serpentine paths (plain) and two with serpentines leading to four and twelve paths respectively. Once experimental data is generated via a test matrix of 200 tests, the model will be validated to conduct MFECR process optimization and revalidate the qualitative benchmark on three different MFECR layouts.Item Development of an efficient alternative to recovery O2 from metabolic CO2 via electrolysis operated at ambient temperature and driven by a highly selective catalysis(2023 International Conference on Environmental Systems, 2023-07-16) Dominguez, Jesus; Reidy, Lorlyn; Crawford, Kagen; Oliver-Butler, Kaitlin; Black, Cara; Brown, Brittany; Dennis, Brian; Chanmanee, Wilaiwan; McCall, Shannon; Burke, KennethThe current State of Art (SOA) on oxygen recovery onboard the Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) at the International Space Station (ISS) is a complex, heavy, and power-consuming system that recovers approximately 50% of the oxygen (O2) from metabolic carbon dioxide (CO2). For future long-duration beyond low Earth orbit (LEO) missions, O2 recovery systems will need to be highly reliable, and efficient, and recover a minimum of 75% O2 from metabolic CO2. An alternative technology development effort currently underway at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) has the potential to significantly increase O2 recovery currently limited to 50% (Sabatier) and reduce the complexity of ECLSS O2 recovery. MSFC and the University of Texas in Arlington (UTA) have jointly designed and fabricated a microfluid electrochemical reactor (MFECR) that operates at ambient conditions and utilizes a proprietary catalysis highly selective on reducing CO2 to ethylene (C2H4) at the cathode while O2 is generated at the anode. The MFECR would replace three pieces of hardware for future ECLSS architectures: the current CO2 Reduction Assembly (CRA) (Sabatier reactor), the Plasma Pyrolysis Assembly (PPA), and the Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA). It is designed to interface directly with the CO2 Removal Assembly (CDRA) and the Water Processing Assembly (WPA) to supply CO2 reactant and water replenishment respectively. This is expected to substantially improve the sustainability of the ISS ECLSS and reduce requirements on power and weight. Here, we discuss the current development and evaluation efforts on different alternatives on not only the configuration and setup of the MFECR at an Engineering Design Unit (EDU) scale but also the selection of component materials.Item Developmental Efforts of an Electrochemical Oxygen Recovery System for Advanced Life Support(50th International Conference on Environmental Systems, 7/12/2021) Brown, Brittany; Dominguez, Jesus; Curreri, Peter; Rabenberg, Ellen; Reidy, Lorlyn; Dennis, Brian; Chanmanee, Wilaiwan; Burke, KennethThe current State of Art (SOA) Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) oxygen recovery system onboard the International Space Station (ISS) is a complex, heavy, and power consuming system that recovers approximately 50% of the oxygen (O2) from metabolic carbon dioxide (CO2). For future long-duration missions, O2 recovery systems will need to be highly reliable, efficient, and recover maximum metabolic CO2. A minimum of 75% O2 recovery is required for future O2 recovery systems. Investigations into various technologies to help meet these requirements for exploration are ongoing; however, most of these proposed technologies ultimately result in a more complex system. A Macrofluidic Electrochemical Reactor (MFECR) is one proposed technology development effort currently underway at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) that has the potential to significantly reduce the complexity of ECLSS O2 recovery system. The MFECR operates at standard conditions, giving it an advantage over other technologies being investigated, which require high temperatures resulting in heavy reactors and high power consumption. The MFECR would replace three pieces of hardware for future ECLSS architectures: the current Carbon Dioxide Reduction Assembly (Sabatier reactor), the Plasma Pyrolysis Assembly (PPA), and the Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA). It is designed to interface directly with the Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) and the Water Processor Assembly (WPA). This allows for a less complex system and higher reliability than the current SOA as well as reduced power, weight and H2O consumption of ECLSS. Here, we will discuss the current development efforts of the MFECR and how this technology may aide in the advancement of future long-duration life support systems.Item Modeling Electrolytic Conversion of Metabolic CO2 and Optimizing a Microfluidic Electrochemical Reactor for Advanced Closed Loop Life Support Systems(50th International Conference on Environmental Systems, 7/12/2021) Dominguez, Jesus; Brown, Brittany; Dennis, Brian; Chanmanee, Wilaiwan; Curreri, Peter; Reidy, Lorlyn; Rabenberg, Ellen; Burke, KennethThe International Space Station (ISS) is currently equipped with a complex, heavy, and power-consuming system that recovers approximately 50% of O2 from metabolic CO2. Future long-duration missions will require a sustainable and highly efficient system capable of yielding a minimum of 75% O2 recovery. A Microfluidic Electrochemical Reactor (MFECR) technology development effort is currently underway at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) to significantly increase current O2 recovery efficiency and reduce the complexity of the system. This paper presents a comprehensive multi-physics 3D model developed at MSFC on CO2 conversion to O2 and C2H4 at standard conditions via MFECR. The 3D spatial domain of the model is a replica of the actual MFECR�s 3D drawing generated for the MFECR�s fabrication and operated to recover O2 from CO2 yielding C2H4 as byproduct. Electrochemical (EC) physics that includes EC multicomponent reaction mechanisms, mass transport, and current density distributions are coupled in the model with all the other physics phenomena involved in the process, such as free and porous fluid flow, multicomponent mass transfer, heat transfer, water condensation, and DC electrical current generation along with Joule heating effect. The authors plan to use experimental results to validate this rigorous comprehensive model and build a reliable simulator that will not only assist the authors on the MFECR design but also optimize its operation.