Technical Paper
Development of a Hydrophilic, Antimicrobial Coating for Condensing Heat Exchangers
1997-07-01
972408
For short missions such as those typical for shuttle flights, microbial proliferation in the coatings has not been a major issue, despite the fact that the coatings are continuously moist and an ideal breeding ground for microbial species. ...A hydrophilic, antimicrobial coating has been developed for the condensing heat exchanger and filter assembly (CHFXA) for the Columbus Orbital Facility of the International Space Station. The coating is a single-phase, alumina-based, ceramic coating containing silver oxide as a biocide. ...To overcome this problem, slurping condensing heat exchangers have been developed that combine a hydrophilic coating on the air flow passages and an additional slurping section added to the air outlet of the heat exchanger to achieve efficient air-water separation.