Experimental modelling for the Prediction of Heat and Mass Transfer in an Air-Conditioned Space Environment for Life Support Systems

For the success of long-term space flights, and the establishment of permanent bases in space, a well controlled self sustained environment is required. In order to optimize a closedloop bio-regenerative life support system, it is necessary to control the hydrodynamics and the coupled heat and mass transfer, which develops in a space habitat concerned with humans and plants. Thus, we have proposed an experimental set up that can gives us accurate predictions of heat and mass transfer at interfaces. We intend to introduce later on the measured heat and mass transfer coefficients in a global theoretical model. More precisely, this study focuses on the condensation phenomena of humid air on specific and simple geometries. For that purpose we induce condensation on an active surface maintained isothermal, and measure the mass transfer. The experiments were carried out in a wind tunnel, where a low turbulent flow develops and the temperature and hygrometric distributions are also well controlled. We have already studied the velocity profiles on vertical and horizontal flat plates with and without condensation. Velocity profiles within the boundary layer have already been discussed in dry conditions.