With NASA's plans for planetary exploration and colonization comes a need for more advanced electrical components.These components can be optimized to produce more power in a smaller amount of space with a more efficient method of cooling. Our team aims to improve the efficiency of spray cooling electrical components in a microgravity environment as a means for optimizing the cooling of electrical systems. Spray cooling with the use of Fluorinert is a growing trend in industry. By observing differences associated with the process in space, as well as increasing heat transfer by optimizing known disruptive phenomena that occur in a 1-g environment, the implementation of spray cooling systems can be achieved.
There are three main areas of interest for simulating the spray cooling of electrical components including; the impact of the water droplet against the heated surface, the heat dissipated during the impact time, and the breakup of the water droplet through the electric field. The impact of the water droplet against the heated surface will be observed with a high speed video camera to record the deformation. The temperature change of the copper plates caused by the droplets will be recorded through the implementation of thermocouples. The breakup of the water droplets going through the electric field will be recorded by a high speed camera, which will generate photographic data for comparisons with the results obtained in a 1g environment.With many microgravity projects, the program and experiment can be difficult to relate to underprivileged schools. The Oregon State Microgravity Flight Team feels it is vital to focus educational resources on devoting more time to a fewer number of underprivileged schools and bringing in educational specialists to aid in presentations. The team will be able to reiterate information and make a greater impact.
You might just be wondering how we make all this work, one way to learn more about just what it takes to make an experiment is a House of Quality.