Read it here!

The study led by C. Peromingo, P. Salgado Sánchez, D. Gligor, A. Bello, and J. Rodríguez, published in Physics of Fluids (2023), addresses innovative methods to reduce sloshing in microgravity environments. Simulations were conducted to identify the optimal shape, number, and arrangement of baffles in a rectangular tank. Additionally, temperature modulation was introduced to counteract the original sloshing motion.

Findings: The findings demonstrated that the ideal combination of baffles and temperature modulation reduced sloshing decay time by over 80%. This strategy showed significant potential to enhance liquid stability in microgravity environments.

Applications and Significance: The developed methods have potential applications across various domains, from propulsion systems and water storage in space missions to terrestrial uses, including liquid transport in trucks, manned and unmanned aerial vehicles, and offshore oil extraction plants.

Conclusions: The study highlights the importance of innovative techniques in controlling sloshing in microgravity, underscoring their relevance not only in space missions but also in numerous terrestrial systems.

Cross-shaped baffles

You can also read here the AIP article.

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In her own words “[…] I think it´s really incredible science so I’m looking forward to DCMIX team […] thank you guys I hope you get some cool results. […]“

Wilco! Thanks to you Kate, you are indeed our rock star!

Source: NASA

– [Kate Rubins] Copy Houston…And Hunstville Station on Space to Ground 2 for SODI.

– [Paycom] With you on 2, Kate.

– [Kate Rubins] I just wanted to let you know the photos are available for downlink on SSC20 and Andria, you are an absolute rock star! Thank you for being a fantastic PAYCOM, and getting us through a complex and very cool set up today and I just want to take a moment to say thank you to the all of the folks at Hunstville that are doing operations, the SODI team, the MSG team. You guys are really impressive with what you’re able to do with these procedures. It’s really smooth getting the stuff in, even when we hit a little snag we figure it out quickly, and I think it´s really incredible science so I’m looking forward to the DCMIX team. I’m not exactly an expert on tripartite hydrocarbon mixtures but, it’s very cool. I’ve actually been reading up on it because it’s so interesting. I didn’t know a lot about thermodiffusion, on how microgravity affects thermodynamic modelling, but it´s really a fascinating example of the kind of variety of science we have up here so thank you guys, I hope you get some cool results. And also to Munich, to Uwe. Thank you very much for the training at EAC. I still remember that class and that helped me out a lot with the big picture today. So I appreciate it, to all those folks.

– [Paycom] Thanks Kate, Hunstville copies all and will pass on all those good words, and considering we started the activity with a couple of screws loose, I think we did pretty well.

– [Kate Rubins] I was saying the same thing, so thank you so much again!

La entrada SODI-DCMIX: happy to see you again! aparece primero en E-USOC.

The guided tour participants could observe first-hand how the real time International Space Station (ISS) operations environment works. In detail, the participants can visit our clean room, the fluids laboratory and, of course, our control room. In the clean room, currently without any engineering model from the ISS, the participants could see the nanosatellite QBITO, currently in development. In the laboratory, our researchers explained and performed a demonstration of the last experiment about Vibrated Fluids they are working on as well as other of the electronic projects currently being developed.  Lastly, in the control room, they could see first-hand how the real time operations environment for ISS experiments is, with real time audio and video from the Station. Also, for a better understanding of our work, a short briefing was given about the ISS itself, overall ISS operations environment description and the E-USOC role on it.

The Science Week is an annual event that tries to bring science and technology closer to the citizens. Around 1000 free activities were in this edition’s agenda. The activities offered ranged from guided tours, to workshops as well as roundtables or open door days. Each of them from a different perspective or field but always focused on putting into general knowledge the investigation activities carried in the Community of Madrid.

In this edition, around 50 participants attended our visits. Among them, the Aeromechanics students of IES Raul Vazquez . We are very sorry for not being able to accommodate all the interested people due to the limited seating capacity. We truly wish you enjoyed the visit and we wish to see you in future occasions.

La entrada 15th Science Week aparece primero en E-USOC.

During the E-USOC guided tour, the participants had the opportunity to visit our facilities, which covers the clean room, the fluids laboratory and of course, our control room. In the clean room the participants could see the engineering model of the SODI DCMIX3 experiment. In the laboratory, our researchers explained and performed a demonstration of the last experiment about Vibrated Fluids they are working on. Lastly, in the control room, they could see first-hand how the real time operations environment for International Space Station (ISS) experiments is, with real time audio and video from the ISS. Also, for a better understanding of our work, a short briefing was given about the global ISS operations environment and the E-USOC role on it.

In this edition, more than 50 participants attended our visits. Among them, the Aeromechanics students of IES Raul Vazquez . We are very sorry for not being able to accommodate all the interested people due to the limited seating capacity. We truly wish you enjoyed the visit and we wish to see you in future occasions.

La entrada 14th Science Week aparece primero en E-USOC.

In the case of Ezquerro, the board of Materials Sciences in Space has assessed the expertise, professionalism and commitment shown in the payload operations support for fluid science experiments on-board the ISS. In particular, the work in the SODI-DCMIX2 experiment, which aims to study the diffusion coefficients of ternary fluid mixtures samples in a microgravity environment (+info).

For the young Spanish researcher, this recognition represents “a great honor”, and it was totally unexpected:

“I never imagined this nomination. I strongly believe that the award belongs to the whole team; it is the prize for the culture of effort and improvement adopted for every project in which we are involved.”

Ezquerro works for E-USOC together with other 13 researchers. A young team whose average age is in the thirties. The centre, lead by the professor Ana Laverón, has been previously awarded by the European Space Agency (ESA) for its outstanding performance in the operation of payloads on-board the ISS.

“When we started working for the Columbus project, we were amused to be part of such an important scientific and technological project for Humanity”, reminds Ana Laverón. “Throughout these years we have worked intensely with the best engineering and scientific groups of the sector, and we have learnt a lot from them. This is the reason why we are so excited with the recognitions received, for both the ESA ISS award and the Zeldovich medal. I never imagined this project could give us so many satisfactions”.

Source: E-USOC

La entrada E-USOC researcher Jose Ezquerro awarded a Zeldovich Medal aparece primero en E-USOC.

Development and validation of the on-board procedures and automatic scripts, planning of the on-board activities, remote control and monitoring of the payload, troubleshooting of anomalies in a quick and agile way, data retrieval and dissemination to the scientific community, have been some of the tasks carried on by E-USOC in this project, for which there has been a tight coordination and collaboration with NASA.

NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins (@astroillini) installed ESA’s Selectable Optical Diagnostics Instrument (SODI) inside the Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG) on November 14, although the Cell Array (CA) of fluids was not installed until the end of the month, when it reached the ISS aboard the Progress 53 cargo ship. One of the most determining factors for the success of the mission was the limited lifetime of those fluid samples, an event determined by the appearance of bubbles. So, prior to its arrival to the Space Station, E-USOC team conducted a thorough optical checkout and calibration tests of relevant importance, because they allowed to start operating and generating useful science data from the very first moment of the Cell Array installation.

The mission concluded successfully after more than two month of operations. The payload was uninstalled on February 7th and the Cell Array was removed and is planned to be disposed of (destructive re-entry in a Progress spacecraft).

From the scientific point of view, the experiment has generated a substantial amount of high quality images of great value for the analysis of the processes involved in the diffusion of ternary fluid mixtures. In light of these good results, both NASA and ESA agreed to extend the operations one additional week. The extra activities turned out to produce more valuable science data, not considered initially in the mission’s main purposes. For example, the gas bubble appearing in the liquid cell over time was used by the science team for thermo/solute capillary (Marangoni effect) convection runs. Furthermore, downloaded images from the primary runs already seem to prove the predicted huge Soret effect.

E-USOC has received international recognition for the great performance in these operations. The European Space Agency in particular said:

“The Agency would like to remark outstanding activities done by E-USOC in performing SODI-DCMIX2 and the positive conclusion of the DCMIX2 experiments, as also positively acknowledged by the science community. The Agency congratulates E-USOC to this success.”

Source: NASA

It is worth mentioning that the E-USOC team member José Miguel Ezquerro has been nominated to the prestigious Zeldovich Medal, a prize awarded by the Russian Academy of Sciences and the COSPAR Space Scientific Committee to young scientists for their excellence.

DCMIX2 is the second of a series of five experiments. E-USOC has been designated by ESA as responsible for the SODI payload, and has already started working on the preparation activities for DCMIX3, foreseen for the end of 2014.

La entrada SODI-DCMIX2: From the ISS to the oil field aparece primero en E-USOC.

Source: NASA

“Second successful scientific execution on orbit with educational added value”

The first part of the EPO Foam Stability experiment has been successfully performed inside Columbus by André Kuipers on January 2012. This experiment first part pursued two main objectives: one scientific and one educational. After the data evaluation of the former FOAM-S experiment, scientists proposed new fluid mixtures samples testing. In addition the ESA Education Office has created an educational programme that will transmit science on orbit activities to classrooms across Europe, being EPO Foam Stability one of the demonstration experiments selected.

The scientific experiment philosophy has not changed with respect to the first execution in 2009. The experiment aims to study the so called “wet” foams, which cannot be stabilized on earth because of drainage (process absent in micro-gravity conditions). A total of 3 cell arrays, each of them comprised of 12 cylinders filled with different fluid mixtures samples, have been recorded with a HD video camera using a white background. The hardware was uploaded to the ISS on Progress M-13M (ISS-45-P), and all the video recordings have been downlinked to ground. E-USOC supported this activity through real time audio and video from the ISS.

The educational activities aim at introducing the concept of foams to European students age 10-14. School children will be able to operate their own identical experiment on ground and witness how foams differ under the influence of gravity compared to the ISS’s weightless environment. The study of the behaviour of foams under freefall conditions has strong practical applications: solid foams like aluminium foam are as strong as pure metal but much lighter, and they are used in advanced aerospace technology or manufacturing as well as cutting edge medical equipment. Food companies are also interested in the properties of champagne bubbles, heads of beer or chocolate mousse to develop better and tastier products on Earth.

The second part of the EPO Foam Stability experiment will be performed on 24th April 2012, along with another educational experiment called Convection. It will consist on a livelink connection between the station and different venues in several European countries, from which the school children will be able to ask questions to André Kuipers. Stay tuned and follow us to know the results of this livelink.

More information:

La entrada EPO Foam Stability aparece primero en E-USOC.