Blood flow and microgravity

Flow boiling CHF in microgravity

Poor understanding of flow boiling in microgravity has recently emerged as a key obstacle to the development of many types of power generation and life support systems intended for space exploration. This study examines flow boiling CHF in microgravity that was achieved in parabolic flight experiments with FC-72 onboard NASA s KC-135 turbojet. At high heat fluxes, bubbles quickly coalesced into...

Simulated microgravity increases cutaneous blood flow in the head and leg of humans.

BACKGROUND The cutaneous microcirculation vasodilates during acute 6 degrees head-down tilt (HDT, simulated microgravity) relative to upright conditions, more in the lower body than in the upper body. HYPOTHESIS We expected that relative magnitudes of and differences between upper and lower body cutaneous blood flow elevation would be sustained during initial acclimation to simulated microgra...

Turbulent bubbly flow in pipe under gravity and microgravity conditions

Experimental and theoretical investigation of annular flow condensation in microgravity

Vehicles for future manned space missions will demand unprecedented increases in power requirements and heat dissipation. Achieving these goals while maintaining acceptable size and weight limits will require replacing present single-phase thermal management components with far more efficient twophase counterparts. This study discusses the development of an experimental facility for the study o...

Microgravity opposed-flow flame spread in polyvinyl chloride tubes

The effects of gravity on opposed-flow flame spread in a confined geometry were investigated experimentally in the 2.2-s drop tower at the NASA Glenn Research Center. Pure oxygen flowed through samples of 0.64-cminner-diameter polyvinyl chloride (PVC) tubing held either horizontally or vertically in a combustion chamber filled with nitrogen. The sample was ignited in normal gravity with a hot w...