Ultrasonic Technology Solutions, LLC — National Aeronautics and Space Administration SBIR Phase I: H3

Description

NASArsquo;s Life Support and Habitation Systems Focus Area seek key capabilities and technology solutions that enable extended human presence in deep space and on planetary surfaces such as the moon and Mars, including Orion, ISS, Gateway, Artemis, and Human Landing Systems. One of the critical technological gaps listed includes clothing washer/dryer combinationnbsp;for use on the moon (1/6g) or Mars (1/3g) that can clean up to 4.5kg of cotton, polyester, and wool clothing in less than 7 hours using lt;50kg machine mass, lt;0.3m3 external machine volume and lt;300W electrical power (Note: 101.3kPa habitat pressure may be assumed for prototype development).The P.I.nbsp;invented the transformative ldquo;direct contact ultrasonic dryingrdquo; back in 2015 at ORNL and improved the technology over five years.nbsp;In 2020, the lead inventor decided to leave ORNL and focus on the commercialization of this technology at UTS and further improving it. UTS exclusively licensed this platform technology from ORNL.nbsp;Our team demonstrated five times higher drying energy efficiency for clothing (1/5th of the energy input) and two times faster drying rates compared to the state-of-the-art residential clothes dryers.Here, we are proposing to develop a transformative combo washing and drying machine for space application where the ultrasonic components are the backbone of the technology.nbsp;nbsp;We are proposing to use mechanical washing methods using ultrasonic cleaners for the washing cycle. Also, we are going to use our direct contact ultrasonic drying for the drying cycle.nbsp;For a single garment, a 30times;40times;10cm assembly weighing less than 5kg should be able to wash and dry a pair of jeans in 6-12 minutes with an average power draw of 40 Watts during the wash cycle and 30-200 Watts during the drying cycle.nbsp;