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Microgravity Research in Support of Technologies for the Human Exploration and Development of Space and Planetary Bodies (2000) / Chapter Skim
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II Brief Descriptions of Phenomena Important in Reduced Gravity
Pages 17-20

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From page 17...
... The consequences of local variations in Earth's gravitational acceleration can be accounted for easily through the scaling that is inherent in the relationships among the various dimensionless groups, and it is expected that for the gravitational accelerations that exist on the surfaces of the Moon and Mars, such known scaling laws are adequate for describing a number of phenomena. (For this reason most HEDS technology problems that need to be addressed by fundamental research on basic transport phenomena are likely to occur at near zero gravity rather than at fractional gravity levels.)
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From page 18...
... In Earth gravity, phases tend to stratify depending on their density, with the denser phase flowing or collecting in the bottom of a pipe or component, whereas in microgravity there is no driving force for stratification. Various flow regimes occur corresponding to different configurations of the two phases, including bubbles of gas in a liquid, droplets of liquid in a gas, and the annular flow of a film of liquid along the walls of a conduit with gas and entrained liquid droplets flowing in a central core.
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From page 19...
... 1988. Low-grav~y eggs duMng sin.
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Key Terms

  • gravity level
  • phase change
  • reduced gravity
  • heat transfer
  • multiphase flow

  • liquid phase
  • density differences
  • power plant
  • thermally induced
  • total interracial

  • free energy
  • rankine cycle
  • liquid surface
  • driving force
  • dominant role

  • earth gravity
  • cycle power
  • occur corresponding
  • regimes occur
  • phases tend

  • basic transport
  • central core
  • heat pipes
  • regulates wetting
  • transport phenomena

  • design data
  • devices based
  • entrained liquid
  • induced density
  • product gases


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