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The International Space Station Alpha (ISSA) Temperature and Humidity Control (THC) subsystem has been reconfigured and tested for both Node 1 and US Laboratory modules. Each element shares conditioned air that originates in the Lab module and is distributed into either the Lab, Node 1, Mini-Pressurized Logistics Module (MPLM), or the Cupola. This “parasitic” cooling scheme was tested at the McDonnell Douglas Space System Laboratory in Huntington Beach, California, during the summer of 1995. This test involved the use of standard and nonstandard techniques of measuring air flow through a complex system of ducting. Flow balancing was achieved through a series of additional dampers and orifices throughout the system. The purpose of this paper is to review some of the air flow measurement techniques and compare some of the test results with traditional theory. Techniques used for flow balancing, and test conclusions and recommendations, are also included.

The International Space Station (ISS) Temperature and Humidity Control (THC) system has been reconfigured from the Space Station Freedom (SSF) configuration to meet new interface requirements and to implement a new “parasitic” air cooling scheme. This scheme provides Lab THC cooled air to Node 1, and more critically integrates Node 1 ports at different stages of space station assembly. A joint development test of the complex U.S. Lab and Node 1 integrated THC/IMV ducting system was conducted in the summer of 1995 at the McDonnell Douglas test facility in Huntington Beach, California. The purpose of the test was to show overall capability of the ducting system to meet basic requirements, and to provide detailed flow and pressure drop performance data for individual duct segments. This paper provides correlations of the test data with analytical data obtained from a computerized model of the THC/IMV ducting system.