Comparison of thermal insulation performance of fibrous materials for the advanced space suit.
The current multi-layer insulation used in the extravehicular mobility unit (EMU) will not be effective in the atmosphere of Mars due to the presence of interstitial gases. Alternative thermal insulation means have been subjected to preliminary evaluation by NASA to attempt to identify a material that will meet the target conductivity of 0.005 W/m-K. This study analyzes numerically the thermal conductivity performance for three of these candidate insulating fiber materials in terms of various denier (size), interstitial void fractions, interstitial void media, and orientations to the applied temperature gradient to evaluate their applicability for the new Mars suit insulation. The results demonstrate that the best conductive insulation is achieved for a high-void-fraction configuration with a grooved fiber cross section, aerogel void medium, and the fibers oriented normal to the heat flux vector. However, this configuration still exceeds the target thermal conductivity by a factor of 1.5.
Synthesis and Characterization of Fibre Reinforced Silica Aerogel Blankets for Thermal Protection
Using tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) as the source of silica, fibre reinforced silica aerogels were synthesized via fast ambient pressure drying using methanol (MeOH), trimethylchlorosilane (TMCS), ammonium fluoride (NH4F), and hexane. The molar ratio of TEOS/MeOH/(COOH)2/NH4F was kept constant at 1 : 38 : 3.73 × 10−5 : 0.023 and the gel was allowed to form inside the highly porous meta-aramid fibrous batting. The wet gel surface was chemically modified (silylation process) using various concentrations of TMCS in hexane in the range of 1 to 20% by volume. The fibre reinforced silica aerogel blanket was obtained subsequently through atmospheric pressure drying. The aerogel blanket samples were characterized by density, thermal conductivity, hydrophobicity (contact angle), and Scanning Electron Microscopy. The radiant heat resistance of the aerogel blankets was examined and compared with nonaerogel blankets. It has been observed that, compared to the ordinary nonaerogel blankets, the aerogel blankets showed a 58% increase in the estimated burn injury time and thus ensure a much better protection from heat and fire hazards. The effect of varying the concentration of TMCS on the estimated protection time has been examined. The improved thermal stability and the superior thermal insulation of the flexible aerogel blankets lead to applications being used for occupations that involve exposure to hazards of thermal radiation.
Laminar heat or mass transfer in rectangular channels and in cylindrical tubes for fully developed flow: comparison of solutions obtained for various boundary conditions
Abstract A comparison is made of results obtained with various boundary conditions at the wall of the channels. By comparing blood Sherwood numbers for finite wall resistance with those for constant concentration boundary condition only a small variation is found for various points along the blood channel.