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News, features & press releases

FCF Investigations



Flame Extinguishment Experiment (FLEX)


Flame Extinguishment Experiment-2 (FLEX-2)


Flame Extinguishment Experiment-J (FLEX-2J)



Flame Extinguishment Experiment Italian Combustion Experiment for Green Air (FLEX-ICE-GA)



Within the FIR, an initial complement of four fluid physics experiments will utilize an instrument built around a lightmicroscope. These experiments are the “Constrained Vapor Bubble” experiment (Peter C. Wayner of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute), the “Physics of Hard Spheres Experiment–2” (Paul M. Chaikin of Princeton University), the “Physics of Colloids in Space–2” experiment (David A. Weitz of Harvard University), and the “Low Volume Fraction Entropically Driven Colloidal Assembly” experiment (Arjun G. Yodh of the University of Pennsylvania). The first experiment investigates heat conductance in microgravity as a function of liquid volume and heat flow rate to determine, in detail, the transport process characteristics in a curved liquid film. The other three experiments investigate various complementary aspects of the nucleation, growth, structure, and properties of colloidal crystals in microgravity and theeffects of micromanipulation upon their properties. Key diagnostic capabilities include video microscopy to observe sample features including basic structures and dynamics, thin film interferometry, laser tweezers for colloidal particle manipulation and patterning, confocal microscopy to provide enhanced three-dimensional visualization of colloidal crystal structures, and spectrophotometry to measure colloidal crystal photonic properties. In addition to using the confocal system, biological experiments can conduct fluorescence imaging by using the fiber-coupled output of the Nd:YAG laser operating at 532-nm, the 437-nm line of a mercury arc, or appropriate narrow-band filtering of the FIR provided metal halide white light source.

Constrained Vapor Bubble (CVB)

LMM_311The use of interfacial free energy gradients to control fluid flow naturally leads to simpler and lighter heat transfer systems because of the absence of mechanical pumps. Therefore, “passive” engineering systems based on this principle are ideal candidates for the space program. In this context, “passive” refers to the natural pressure field for fluid flow due to changes in the intermolecular force field under an imposed nonisothermal temperature field. This force field is a function of the shape, temperature, and composition of the system. For example, heat pipes which rely on these forces have been proposed frequently to optimize heat transfer under microgravity conditions. However, the basic thermophysical principles controlling these systems are not well understood and, as a result, they have under performed. In general, the full potential of interfacial forces has not been realized in transport phenomena.

Therefore, the basic experimental and theoretical studies of the constrained vapor bubble (CVB) under microgravity conditions to help remedy this undesirable situation. The proposed use of a transparent glass cell and related optical measurements will increase the understanding of transport systems controlled by interfacial phenomena because the system is viewed directly. Relatively large systems with high heat fluxes and small capillary pressure levels set in the condenser will be emphasized.

Pre-Advanced Colloids Experiment-1 (PACE-1)

Pre-Advanced Colloids Experiment-2 / LMM-Bio (PACE-2/LMM-Bio)

Advanced Colloids Experiment (ACE)

Flammability Assessment of Materials for Exploration (FLAME)

Two-Phase Flow Separator Experiment (TPFSE)