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Completed TRL 6 (started at 5, targeting 6)
Electrically Driven Liquid Thin Film Boiling phenomena employs two components of the electrohydrodynamic (EHD) force generated by the application of a direct current electric field to a dielectric fluid. This technique enhances two phase heat transfer by providing a constant liquid working fluid source (thus alleviating dry out) through EHD conduction pumping and enhancing vapor departure via the dielectrophoretic force. This suborbital flight test will acquire experimental heat transfer data and confirm the engineering design of critical subsystems of a to-be-launched International Space Station EHD experiment.
Problem Statement
The most advanced thermal solutions in practice are remote cooling schemes which employ liquid pumps or vapor compressors to pump the working fluid throughout the closed thermal management loop. The application of electric fields to two phase flow permits control of the liquid and vapor phases in a range of gravity fields. Electrically driven liquid film boiling phenomena will lead to a gravity independent, embedded hardware approach which will result in higher temperature heat acquisition, lower mass, size and pumping power consumption than the techniques currently used.
Technology Maturation
The prototype hardware successfully completed a parabolic aircrat flight campaign (T0208) so is currently at TRL-5. The suborbital flight will provide minutes of micro-gravity environment firmly establishing thermal, electrical and hydrodynamic steady state raising the overall TRL to TRL-6: System Adequacy Validated in Simulated Environment.
Summary of September 18, 2025 Flight Test
A novel two-phase heat transport device driven by dielectrophoretic mechanism was flown aboard Blue Origin Shepard rocket. The main objectives of this experiment were as follows,
1. Provide fundamental understanding of dielectrophoretically enhanced iquid film flow boiling in zero-gravity and multi-gravity settings.
2. Provide phenomenological foundation for the development of electric field based two-phase thermal management systems leveraging EHD engineering advantages to develop systems of arbitrary mass flow requirements and geometries.
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