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Void Fraction Sensor for Packed-Bed Reactors in Microgravity
Title: Principal Investigator
Phone: (603) 643-3800
Email: cjc@creare.com
Title: Operations Manager
Phone: (603) 643-3800
Email: wrb@creare.com
The innovative product from this project is an instrument to measure void fraction in packed-bed reactors using an impedance-based approach. As NASA pursues long-duration crewed missions, it will be necessary to adapt packed-bed chemical processing methods to reduced gravity to minimize the mass and volume of consumables hauled from earth. To develop design tools, accurate measurement of void fraction is critical to (1) identify the flow regimes, and (2) quantify the liquid holdup. Opaque reactor beds and conductive working liquids render various traditional void fraction measurements impractical. Advantages of impedance-based measurements include: excellent sensitivity to void fraction, non-intrusive installation, and high rates of data sampling. In Phase I we demonstrated that our approach can meet the need with a prototypical packed-bed geometry and a conductive liquid. Our results prove a sensor configuration, demonstrate a signal-conditioning approach, and show that electrical impedance measurements in a packed-bed configuration can be correlated readily to void fraction for both steady-state and transient two-phase flows. During Phase II we will develop purpose-built electronics, adapt the sensor mechanical design to the configuration of packed-bed facilities, and demonstrate a prototype with packed-bed facilities like those used in NASA research projects.
* Information listed above is at the time of submission. *