Browsing by Author "Oliver-Butler, Kaitlin"
Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
- Results Per Page
- Sort Options
Item Commissioning and Operational Data of Advanced Magnetic-Bearing-Supported Carbon Dioxide Blower for Space Applications(2024 International Conference on Environmnetal Systems, 2024-07-21) Khatri, Rasish; Solis, Octavio; Hawkins, Larry; Fruth, Nick; Oliver-Butler, Kaitlin; Garr, John; Winslette, Lyndsey; Knox, JamesNASA designed and developed a next-generation CO2 removal system, the Four Bed Carbon Dioxide Scrubber, for use aboard the International Space Station. A key module of FBCO2 is the magnetic-bearing-supported blower, developed by Calnetix Technologies, which is used to move air through the sorbent beds. The blower was installed onboard the ISS in February 2023 as a retrofit into the existing FBCO2 system. The active magnetic bearings allow for high reliability, making them a choice technology for space applications. The blower is driven by an integrated permanent magnet motor and a variable speed drive. While previous papers have focused on the design of the blower and the ground test data collected for the blower, this paper focuses on the commissioning of the blower and live data captured from the blower post-commissioning. Details of the commissioning are discussed, including key features added to the magnetic bearing controller software which enabled the remote commissioning of the first five-axis AMB-supported machine to operate in space.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 Ionic Liquids for a Regenerable Carbon Formation Reactor: Reactor Design Study and Ionic Liquid Parameterization(2023 International Conference on Environmental Systems, 2023-07-16) Oliver-Butler, Kaitlin; Woolever, MitchellFor oxygen recovery, the Bosch process holds the promise of theoretical complete oxygen and process hydrogen recovery, and it is a subject of interest for air revitalization systems for travel beyond low-earth orbit. However, the Bosch process generates a solid carbon product that causes issues with pressure and interferes with the catalyst; dealing with the carbon and renewing the catalyst poses high up-mass or resupply needs for any Bosch reactor, making it unfeasible at its current state of development. Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) has studied the use of ionic liquids (IL) to renew the catalyst required by the reactor to address the issue of high resupply need. An ionic liquid can be used to digest catalyst material out of the carbon fouling and then electroplate it onto a substrate, which would then be ready for use in another carbon formation reaction. This cycle can then be repeated as necessary, ideally within a single reactor. Towards this end, this conference paper reviews prior proof-of-concept work completed by MSFC, and then it defines the reactor design problem for a single reactor that can be used for both carbon formation reactions and ionic liquid-based catalyst renewal. IL selection considerations are detailed. Empirical parameterization studies on the selected IL are presented with discussion on how it informs design choices and creates tradeoffs. This paper concludes with a discussion on challenges in reactor design and an outline of future work.