Author ORCID Identifier
Date Available
10-3-2019
Year of Publication
2019
Degree Name
Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering (MSME)
Document Type
Master's Thesis
College
Engineering
Department/School/Program
Mechanical Engineering
First Advisor
Dr. Alexandre Martin
Second Advisor
Dr. Suzanne Weaver Smith
Abstract
In order to enhance accessibility to microgravity research, the design process for experiments on the ISS must be streamlined and accessible to all scientific disciplines, not just aerospace engineers. Thus, a general design and analysis toolbox with accompanying best practices manual for microgravity liquid containment is proposed. The work presented in this thesis improves the design process by introducing a modular liquid tank design which can be filled, drained, or act as a passive liquid-gas separation device. It can also be pressurized, and used for aerosol spray. This tank can be modified to meet the design requirements of various experimental setups and liquids. Furthermore, rough simulations of this tank are presented and available to the user for modification. The simulation and design methodology for other general cases is discussed as well. After reading this thesis, the user should have a basic understanding of how liquids behave in microgravity. She will be able to run simple simulations, design, build, test, and fly a liquid management device which has been modified to suit the requirements of her specific experiment.
The general tank design can be manufactured using 3-D printing, traditional CNC milling, or a combination thereof. The design methodology and best practices presented here have been used to design tanks used in experiments on the International Space Station for Budweiser and Lambda Vision. Both tanks functioned nominally on orbit. While the specific data from these experiments cannot be presented due to proprietary restrictions, using this thesis as a design guide for new experiments should yield favorable results when applied to new tank designs. If the reader has any questions or would like an updated design process, the author’s preferred contact information can be found using the Orcid iD: 0000-0002-2617-2957 .
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.13023/etd.2019.416
Funding Information
NASA NNX15AR69H
Recommended Citation
Meek, Chris, "Design Process for the Containment and Manipulation of Liquids in Microgravity" (2019). Theses and Dissertations--Mechanical Engineering. 143.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/me_etds/143
Included in
Space Habitation and Life Support Commons, Systems Engineering and Multidisciplinary Design Optimization Commons, Transport Phenomena Commons
