The carbon dioxide removal assembly (CDRA) is part of the International Space Station (ISS) Air Revitalization (AR) system. As such, this system selectively removes carbon dioxide generated by the crew members, and discharges it overboard to space vacuum. During initial operation sequences aboard the ISS, CDRA adsorbent particulates were not properly contained, resulting in operational failures.
To resolve these adsorbent particulate containment problems, the desiccant/adsorbent bed (DAB), a key component of the CDRA, was redesigned and modified. In addition, a set of in-line filters that were added to the CDRA as a short-term on-orbit solution, were retained in the design. The incorporation of these modified DAB's and the in-line filters changed the CDRA configuration from a “-1-1” to a “-1-7”.
Following this conversion of the CDRA, performance verification testing was performed. The data from these tests was compared to that previously acquired from the CDRA “-1-1” configuration. The comparison demonstrated that the configuration change resulted in no performance degradation. The “-1-7” CDRA configuration maintained the critical carbon dioxide removal, power consumption, and product purity performance.
