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Completed TRL 3 (started at 2, targeting 5)
The ElectroHydroDynamic (EHD) experiment seeks to provide experimentally validated fundamental understanding of the electrically driven liquid film flow in the microgravity environment, and experimentally validated phenomenological foundation for the development of electric field based two-phase thermal management systems. This will be completed by the demonstration that EHD conduction pumping can sustain liquid film boiling in the microgravity environment and that a material's critical heat flux is enhanced through EHD conduction pump. In addition, the dielectricphoretic (DEP) force in the presence of phase change and the absence of gravity will be investigated by demonstrating bubble departure effects with an applied DEP force during thin film boiling.
The EHD experiment will characterize the effects of gravity on the interaction of electric and flow fields in the presence of phase change, specifically pertaining to: (1) The effects of microgravity on the EHD generated two-phase flow. (2) The effects of microgravity on EHD driven liquid film flow boiling and di-electro-phoretically extracting bubbles from the heating surface. In space it is hard to keep electronics cool. Most of the electronic hardware found in modern satellites and space vehicles generates considerable heat. If the heat is not removed, that heat can impair the performance of these devices or even cause failure. The electrohydrodynamic (EHD) experiment is a new way to remove the heat from electronics with its electric field pumping action with the benefits of low power, no moving parts and is lightweight.
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