EAGER: Critical Gap-Wetting Experiments in the Emerging Commercial Rocket Industry's Low-Gravity Research Environment

Purdue University, West Lafayette IN

Investigators

Abstract

0940678 Collicott This research will perform experiments to test predictions of critical wetting in three-dimensional containers. Critical wetting is the property of a two-fluid system where the relative wettability of the solid container, described by the contact angle of a liquid on the solid, and the shape of the container determine whether the liquid will form a finite-height single-valued static interface in a container. 3D models will track conditions where the critical wetting phenomenon lacks the solid mathematical foundation and experimental verification that exists for critical wetting in two-dimensional cylindrical containers. Failure to properly predict critical wetting leads to reduced performance or failure in devices or systems that rely on capillary fluid physics when the liquid remains in one region or the liquid wicks away to another region. Both behaviors are important in numerous small-scale fluids systems operating today and envisioned for the future. Predicting such conditions is important for proper two-phase fluid system operations, such as for water management in small fuel cell channels, pulmonary health, MEMS-based medical and other instrumentation, and liquid propulsion systems. The planned experiment will be one of the first to fly in the emerging commercial sub-orbital rocket flight industry. It will deliver results that cannot be obtained by other methods and will deliver these results far faster and cheaper than through traditional sub-orbital rocket test programs. Locally, the impact will be through the impact that this NSF-funded research will have on undergraduate opportunities at Purdue. Past research advances of this research area publicized by Purdue News Service have generated positive news of international scope. This experimental program will show how the emerging sub-orbital rocket industry may be effectively used for critical research for the near future.