MAINSTREAM ENGINEERING CORP — National Aeronautics and Space Administration SBIR Phase I: H4

Description

<p>NASA is currently pursuing an advanced space suit portable life support system (PLSS) for future missions that could reach the moon or Mars. The Liquid Cooling and Ventilation Garment (LCVG) is a critical component of the PLSS and improvements are needed to reduce weight and improve comfort and mobility. NASA research has shown that the LCVG tubing is a significant heat transfer bottleneck because of the low tubing thermal conductivity and high thermal resistance between the tubing/garment and the body. Previous research at Mainstream developed innovative techniques for improving tubing thermal resistance. Leveraging this work, Mainstream proposes to develop next-generation tubing that improves LCVG performance.<strong> </strong>In Phase I, Mainstream will establish a baseline thermal model and experimentally demonstrate performance improvements from different tubing configurations. In Phase II, Mainstream will use the new tubing design to create a full scale LCVG and test its performance in a representative environment.</p>