Sublimator Adsorbent Bed Organic Contaminant Removal
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Solution Overview
Problem
The sublimator in Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) spacesuits experiences performance debilitation due to adherent molecular monolayers formed by trace organic compound contaminants like abietic acid, sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate, and acrylic acid oligomers on the metallic porous plate, which impede sublimation and heat removal efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A thermal management system incorporating an adsorbent bed in the water feed line, comprising different types of activated carbon media, specifically synthetic and natural activated carbon, to substantially remove these organic compounds before they reach the porous plate, thereby preventing the formation of adherent layers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If feed water is delivered directly to the porous plate, then the sublimator structure is simple, but organic compound contaminants form adherent monolayers that impede sublimation and reduce performance
Solution Approach 1:
The adsorbent bed is installed in the water feed line upstream of the porous plate to pre-remove organic compound contaminants before the feed water reaches the plate. This preliminary filtration action prevents the formation of adherent monolayers that would impede sublimation, thereby maintaining sublimator performance without requiring complex post-processing systems
Solution Approach 2:
The adsorbent bed acts as an intermediary component between the feed water source and the porous plate. It mediates the interaction by selectively adsorbing organic compound contaminants while allowing water to pass through, thus protecting the porous plate from contamination without directly modifying the plate structure or sublimation process
2Reliability
If adsorbent bed is added to remove organic compounds, then sublimator performance is maintained, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The adsorbent bed utilizes porous adsorbent media to remove organic compound contaminants from feed water. The porous structure provides large surface area for adsorption while maintaining low pressure drop, enabling effective contaminant removal with a compact component that integrates smoothly into the existing water feed line without significantly increasing device complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the chemical composition parameter of the feed water by removing organic compounds through adsorption. This parameter change prevents the formation of adherent monolayers on the porous plate, maintaining heat transfer efficiency and sublimation performance while using a relatively simple adsorbent bed component
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The adsorbent bed effectively reduces organic compound concentrations by at least 50%, enhancing sublimator performance by maintaining efficient heat transfer and minimizing the impact of contaminants like abietic acid, sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate, and acrylic acid oligomers on the porous plate.
Implementation Method 1
An adsorbent bed in the water feed line is configured to substantially remove organic compounds from the feed water that are capable of forming an adherent layer on the porous plate
Implementation Method 2
The feed water freezes on the porous plate surface
Implementation Method 3
The vacuum side progressively sublimes the ice to the vacuum of space to remove waste heat from the astronaut
Data Source
Figure 1~3
Figure 4
AI summary
A thermal management system includes a sublimator (22) that has a porous plate (24), a water feed line (26) connected with the sublimator for delivering feed water to the porous plate, and an adsorbent bed (28) in the water feed line. The sublimator is operable to freeze and sublime the feed water using the porous plate. The adsorbent bed is configured to substantially remove organic compounds from the feed water.