Search Results

In the period December 1994 to July 1996 a cryogenic heat exchanger has been developped, by Microtecnica, under a direct contract to ESA/CNES. The heat exchanger has been designed to pre-warm liquid oxygen using HFC-R134a. The main taskswere the trade-off of the thermal path concept, the definition of the structural configuration, the selection of manufacturing methods and the component testing. Two test benches have been realized for the circulation of the oxygen (by AirLiquide) and for the circulation of the HFC-R134a. No mechanical failures or thermodynamic malfunctions have been encountered during all the test campaign. The performances are applicable for fuel cells and manned systems.

A new configuration of centrifugal waste liquid separator is presently under development in Microtecnica. Its main feature is the single shaft configuration, which means only one motor drives both the separator sub-assy and the fan, which is unusual for this class of separator. This paper will describe all the reasons for this selection, the features of the system, the performances and the results obtained at the present stage of development.

This paper provides a comprehensive description of the present status of the Water Pump Subassembly (WPSA) that will be part of the Active Thermal Control System of the Pressurized Modules of Columbus, the Attached Laboratory (PM4) and the PM2 of the Man Tended Free Flyer. Description of major components of the Subassembly are presented along with the results of trade-offs performed and rationals for concept selection.

Microgravity problems are considered here from the standpoint of engineers that are requested to maintain a very low level of self induced vibrations generated by a pump package. The request to conceive a mathematical model for the evaluation of the total dynamic force generated and transmitted from the package to the interfacing structure has induced a lot of activities and studies in this field. Investigations about internal sources of vibration have been made by means of analytical techniques and experimental evaluations. Preliminary results and considerations are presented.