Volume Sensor for Flexible Fluid Reservoirs in Microgravity

The Advanced Space Suit carries consumable cooling water maintained at ambient pressure within a soft-walled, flexible reservoir. To ensure uninterrupted thermal control it is critical to monitor the volume of water remaining, but no known sensor is suitable for this task. Existing measurement techniques are unacceptably sensitive to the motion and varying geometry of the reservoir in micro-gravity, or to electromagnetic interference within the suit environment. We will develop a simple, compact, low power sensor that accurately measures the volume of fluid in any soft-walled bladder. Our innovative sensing technique will provide an accurate measurement that is insensitive to gravity, the motion, and geometry of the reservoir, the presence of air, and electromagnetic interference.

The Feedwater Supply Assembly in the Advanced Space Suit is a soft-walled, flexible reservoir containing cooling water. The water is circulated through the thermal control loop and slowly consumed by evaporation at the Suit Water Membrane Evaporator, rejecting waste heat to control occupant temperature. To ensure uninterrupted thermal control and occupant survival, it is critical to monitor the remaining water volume. The sensor developed under this program will accurately monitor the remaining volume in this reservoir. This sensor will function equally well in any other flexible fluid reservoir on a space platform.

This sensor technology could meet a clinical need for minimally invasive monitoring of human bladder volume monitoring in patients with incontinence. This sensor technology will also be applicable to volume monitoring in flexible water and fuel storage bladders used in military and recreational applications.

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