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Life Testing of the Vapor Compression Distillation/Urine Processing Assembly (VCD/UPA) at the Marshall Space Flight Center (1993 to 1997)Wastewater and urine generated on the International Space Station will be processed to recover pure water using vapor compression distillation (VCD). To verify the long-term reliability and performance of the VCD Urine Processor Assembly (UPA), life testing was performed at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) from January 1993 to April 1996. Two UPA'S, the VCD-5 and VCD-5A, were tested for 204 days and 665 days, respectively. The compressor gears and the distillation centrifuge drive belt were found to have operating lives of approximately 4,800 hours, equivalent to 3.9 years of operation on ISS for a crew of three at an average processing rate of 1.76 kg/h (3.97 lb/h). Precise alignment of the flex-splines of the fluids and purge pump motor drives is essential to avoid premature failure after about 400 hours of operation. Results indicate that, with some design and procedural modifications and suitable quality control, the required performance and operational life can be met with the VCD/UPA.
Document ID
19980211458
Acquisition Source
Marshall Space Flight Center
Document Type
Technical Memorandum (TM)
Authors
Wieland, P.
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL United States)
Hutchens, C.
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL United States)
Long, D.
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL United States)
Salyer, B.
(ION Electronics Hunsville, AL United States)
Date Acquired
September 6, 2013
Publication Date
August 1, 1998
Subject Category
Man/System Technology And Life Support
Report/Patent Number
NASA/TM-1998-208539
M-887
NAS 1.15:208539
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.
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