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This paper describes the interrelated controls for automatic start sequencing, fuel scheduling, customer air delivery, and supervisory and protective systems as applied to the Curtiss-Wright CW657E “Jet-Air” Compressor. Model CW657E is capable of delivering 15,000 SCFM air at 85 psig (at 30°F and sea level pressure) and may be used in a diversity of manufacturing, processing, and industrial applications. A description of the control system and its operation in relation to compressor requirements, while furnishing air to feed distribution lines to air assisted water atomizing nozzles for snow making is reviewed as an example. Other models can deliver up to 30,000 SCFM with modified control systems, including pressure controls.

A wide body aircraft carries almost a half–ton of water and ice between the cabin and skin of the aircraft. The water can get on wires and connectors, which can cause electrical problems, cause corrosion and rust, and, eventually, “rain in the plane”. The speaker is the CEO of CTT Systems that has developed a system that solves the condensation by using dry air. The speaker will discuss how condensation can be prevented and how airlines can also save maintenance costs in the process. This topic is relevant for the attendees at the Aerospace Expo, as they are decision makers who need to be aware of this issue. It is also important for the MRO shows as the attendees are on the front lines of dealing with this problem.

The airline industry seems to be providing more leisure features on planes like inflight entertainment, Internet access and Digital TV, but it seems the airline industry has ignored the issue of excess condensation on aircraft, which had plagued carriers since the birth of the airline industry. How safe are passengers when a wide body aircraft carries in excess almost a half ton of water and ice between the cabin and skin of the aircraft? Besides the added weight straining the aircraft, excess condensation soaks wires and connectors which can cause electrical shorts. There have been instances of emergency doors frozen shut, locked by ice stemming from excess water dripping inside the plane. Extra water also causes “rain-in-the-plane”, an issue that has gained national attention and causes passenger discomfort. It's time for the industry to address what has become a serious issue.

This Life Support Laboratory consists of a simulator of the spacecraft called Nautilus, which houses Air Revitalization Subsystem, Atmospheric Control and Supply, and Fire Detection and Suppression in the Equipment Area. There are supporting facilities including a Human Metabolic Simulator, simulated Low and Moderate Temperature Coolant Loop, chemical analysis bench, purified water supply, vacuum and gas supplies. These facilities are scheduled to be completed and start to operate for demonstration purposes by March 2005. There are an ARES Ground Model (AGM) and a Trace Contaminant Control Assembly in the ARS. The latter will be integrated with the AGM and a Condensing Heat Exchanger. The unit of AGM is being engineered, built, and will be delivered in early 2005 by EADS Space Division. These assemblies will be operated for sensitivity analysis, integration and optimization studies. The main goal is the achievement for optimal recovery of oxygen.

The paper summarizes the experience gained on the ISS water management system during the missions of ISS-1 through ISS-16 (since November 2 2000, through December 31, 2007). The water supply sources and structure, consumption and supply balance at various phases of space station operation are reviewed. The performance data of the system for water recovery from humidity condensate SRV-K and urine feed and pretreatment system SPK-U in the Russian orbital segment are presented. The key role of water recovery on a board the ISS and the need to supplement the station's water supply hardware with a system for water reclamation from urine, water from a carbon dioxide reduction system and hygiene water is shown.

Future space exploration missions will require a lightweight spacesuit that expends no consumables. This paper describes the design and performance of a prototype heat rejection system that weighs less than current systems and vents zero water. The system uses regenerable LiCl/water absorption cooling. Absorption cooling boosts the heat absorbed from the crew member to a high temperature for rejection to space from a compact, non-venting radiator. The system is regenerated by heating to 100°C for two hours. The system provides refrigeration at 17°C and rejects heat at temperatures greater than 50°C. The overall cooling capacity is over 100 W-hr/kg.

This paper presents a trade-off study to select a water separator system for a 3-man, 140-day, zero-g mission. Included is a summary of feasible concepts, a compilation of data on existing hardware, and a comparison of the performance characteristics of each with respect to the overall system. Six approaches to zero-g water separation were considered and are discussed: hydrophobic/hydrophilic screens; integrated condenser-water separators; centrifugal separators; cellular sponges; vortex separators; and elbow separators. Some of these techniques have high-performance characteristics with regard to water removal efficiency. However, when reduced to hardware, these same techniques may not integrate well with the overall system. The system selected was the integrated condenser-water-separator. This system requires no power, has no moving parts, and has a very small envelope.

Spacecraft life support equipment is often challenged with two phase flow, where liquid and gas exist together. In the zero gravity environment of an orbiting spacecraft, the behavior of a liquid/gas interface is dominated by forces not usually observed in one “G” due to the overwhelming effects of gravity. The normal perceptions no longer apply. Water does not run down hill and bubbles do not rise to the surface. Surface energy, capillary forces, wetting characteristics and momentum effects predominate. Techniques and equipment have been developed to separate the liquid/gas mixture into its constituent parts with various levels of efficiency and power consumption.

This paper investigates the use of several zero-ozone depleting potential (zero-ODP) HFC refrigerants, including HFC-134a, HFC-227ca, HFC-227ea, HFC-236ea, HFC-236cb, HFC-236fa, HFC-245cb, and HFC-254cb, for centrifugal chiller applications. We took into account the thermodynamic properties of the refrigerant and aerodynamic characteristics of the impeller compression process in this evaluation.. For a given operating temperature lift, there are significant differences in the pressure ratio required by each refrigerant and this variation in pressure ratio directly affects compressor size, efficiency, and performance. A comparison of the HFC refrigerant candidates with CFC-114 shows that HFC-236ea, HFC-227ca and HFC-227ea are viable alternatives for centrifugal water chillers. HFC-236ea has properties closest to CFC-114, and will result in comparible performance, but will require a slightly larger impeller and a purge system.

From mohair plush to woolens, to patterns and now synthetics - that's the growth of automotive fabrics. The 1956 models have gig-finished woolen system broadcloths, tweeds made with spun yarns, Jacquards with spun and filaments, dobby patterns on both woolen and worsted systems and a wide use of boucle or novelty yarns. Fabric designing has become a highly specialized art, attuned always to the stylists' demands. Abrasion, dye stability and light fastness, durability, shrinkage and stretch, cost, spotting and water repellency are all important factors. Where physical requirements are about the same from all automobile manufacturers, they greatly vary in interpretations of results. Where do we go from here? There are synthetics yet untried; some may be blended with natural fibers. By taking the textile supplier more into their confidence, automobile builders would help chart the course ahead.

X-ray is an indispensable aid in locating and determining the extent of incipient failures in structure which is inaccessible by position or covered by multiple layers of metal. It is also the most feasible method for checking oil coolers for contamination; bonded honeycomb panels for water; fuel lines for erosion; and with a 360 deg emission tube, fuselage frames for structural integrity without removing the interior upholstery and panels from the passenger compartment or cargo compartments.

In order to provide effective cooling for astronauts during extravehicular activities (EVAs), a liquid cooling and ventilation garment (LCVG) is used to remove heat by a series of tubes through which cooling water is circulated. To better predict the effectiveness of the LCVG and determine possible modifications to improve performance, computer simulations dealing with the interaction of the cooling garment with the human body have been run using the Wissler Human Thermal Model. Simulations have been conducted to predict the heat removal rate for various liquid cooled garment configurations. The current LCVG uses 48 cooling tubes woven into a fabric with cooling water flowing through the tubes. The purpose of the current project is to decrease the overall weight of the LCVG system. In order to achieve this weight reduction, advances in the garment heat removal rates need to be obtained.

Pavements, no matter what their construction and surface features, provide no traction or skid resistance when they are covered with a deep layer of water. Pavement design and other factors inhibiting or promoting hydroplaning are discussed, as are possible remedial measures. This leads naturally into a review of the pavement surface features that control the reduction of skid resistance with speed. The polishing of pavement surfaces and those of aggregate particles is discussed in the light of present knowledge and practices. Finally, the problems which the future might bring and the options for their solution are highlighted.

Asphalt specifications for a Wet Handling Track (WHT) are very stringent regarding coefficient of adherence and homogeneity of this coefficient over time. Currently, asphalt mixture pavements used in wet conditions have a very limited useful life and continue degrading following different patterns depending on the asphalt mixtures used. This is due to many reasons, but mainly as a consequence of supporting big strains and the extreme conditions during its useful life. During its lifetime, the asphalt is constantly immersed in water and submitted to adverse weather conditions. Moreover, Wet Handling pavements should provide very specific and stable adherence values for vehicle testing during the asphalt aging evolution. Consequently, the study, execution and testing of the new asphalt concrete mixture for the pavements and the materials used for WHT is necessary to reach durable, homogenous in time and cost effective pavements with very low adherence parameters.

In aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES) systems, wells provide the interface between the energy storage and use. Efficient operational wells are, therefore, essential for the system to run at maximum (design) efficiency. Adequate test drilling to accurately predict aquifer properties is essential in the design phase; proper construction and development are crucial; and proper monitoring of performance is necessary to identify the early stages of clogging and to evaluate the adequacy of well rehabilitation.

SEVERAL factors are involved in the answer to the question, “How do atmospheric conditions affect the ability of a fuel to satisfy the antiknock requirement of automotive engines?” As is well known, an increase in atmospheric temperature increases the octane-number requirement of engines. This paper points out, however, that this causes little change in the road octane-number ratings of commercial fuels. Increasing the absolute humidity has the opposite effect to increasing the temperature and tends to counteract the undesirable effects of changing temperature throughout the various seasons of the year. Increasing the barometric pressure or decreasing the wind velocity both increase the tendency of commercial fuels to knock. Factors indirectly related to weather conditions, such as the coolant or thermostat used in an engine, also affect the knocking tendency of a fuel.

A laboratory wear test is used to evaluate the wear protection properties of new and used engine oils formulated for FFV service. Laboratory-blended mixtures of these oils with methanol and water have also been tested. The test consists of a steel ball rotating against three polished cast iron discs. Oil samples are obtained at periodic intervals from a fleet of 3.0L Taurus vehicles operating under controlled go-stop conditions. To account for the effects of fuel dilution, some oils are tested before and after a stripping procedure to eliminate gasoline, methanol and other volatile components. In addition to TAN and TBN measurements, a capillary electrophoresis technique is used to evaluate the formate content in the oils. The results suggest that wear properties of used FFV lubricants change significantly with their degree of usage.

An oxygen-producing water electrolysis cell with phosphoric acid electrolyte can operate on the water vapor in recirculated cabin air and accomplish concurrent dehumidification. The development of the concept over the past 3 years involved research to define the components of electrode overvoltage and design analysis to provide a small, lightweight unit to compensate for the electrolysis power. Theoretical equations based on electrochemistry, fluid dynamics, and heat and mass transfer correlate with the observed steady state operation obtained in extended testing of experimental cells for over 1000 hr. Data on electrode life, gas purity, and voltage characteristics combined with size, weight, and power estimates indicate that the new concept would be competitive with other methods of oxygen generation for advanced space missions. The recent satisfactory performance of a prototype module in an extended test of over 1000 hr is reviewed.

At the United Nations Millennium Summit in September of 2000, the world leaders agreed on an ambitious agenda for reducing poverty and improving lives: the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)1, a list of issues they consider highly pernicious, threatening to human welfare and, thereby, to global security and prosperity. Among the eight goals are included fundamental human needs such as the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger, the promotion of gender equality, the reduction of child mortality and improvement of maternal health, and ensuring the sustainability of our shared environment. In order to help focus the efforts to meet these goals, the United Nations (UN) has established a set of eighteen concrete targets, each with an associated schedule.

When high-intensity discharge (HID) electric lamps are used for plant growth, system inefficiencies occur due to an inability to effectively target light to all photosynthetic tissues of a growing crop stand, especially when it is closed with respect to light penetration. To maintain acceptable crop productivity, light levels typically are increased thus increasing heat loads on the plants. Evapotranspiration (ET) or transparent thermal barrier systems are subsequently required to maintain thermal balance, and power-intensive condensers are used to recover the evaporated water for reuse in closed systems. By accurately targeting light to plant tissues, electric lamps can be operated at lower power settings and produce less heat. With lower power and heat loads, less energy is used for plant growth, and possibly less water is evapotranspired. By combining these effects, a considerable energy savings is possible.