Abstract A new concept of vapour condenser is proposed to solve the drainage problem and to provide an effective condensate flow under weightlessness conditions. The concept combines the capability of a curvilinear surface to drive liquid, and a combination of a porous media and a pump, as an active condensate retraction system. The porous media collects and stores the condensed fluid and acts as a barrier for the vapour phase. Hydrodynamic validation of the liquid flow was done against retraction overflow under terrestrial conditions. It was figured out that the time available for adjusting the retraction system to avoid film disturbances decreased non-linearly with an increase in retraction overflow. The behaviour of the proposed condenser with the retraction system was tested under weightlessness condition during the ESA parabolic flights campaign as a part of concept validation. Three porous media with different values of the pore size and material were tested. It was found that the combination of the pump and porous media helped to improve the condensate flow. It was observed that the stabilisation effect was influencing the condensate flow not only during weightlessness condition but also under acceleration disturbances during the campaign.

中文翻译：

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空间应用中通过多孔介质稳定来自曲线表面的冷凝水流动

摘要 为了解决排水问题并在失重条件下提供有效的冷凝水流，提出了一种新的蒸汽冷凝器概念。该概念结合了曲线表面驱动液体的能力，以及多孔介质和泵的组合，作为主动冷凝水回收系统。多孔介质收集和储存冷凝流体，并充当气相的屏障。液体流动的流体动力学验证是针对陆地条件下的回缩溢出进行的。结果表明，可用于调整回缩系统以避免胶片干扰的时间随着回缩溢出的增加而非线性减少。作为概念验证的一部分，在欧空局抛物线飞行活动期间，在失重条件下测试了具有收回系统的拟议冷凝器的行为。测试了具有不同孔径和材料值的三种多孔介质。发现泵和多孔介质的组合有助于改善冷凝水流量。据观察，稳定效应不仅在失重条件下而且在运动期间的加速度扰动下影响冷凝水流动。