Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Comparison of Mixing and Displacement Ventilation under Limited Space Air Stability Conditions in a Space Capsule

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Microgravity Science and Technology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This study evaluated the performance of different ventilation methods under varying limited space air stability conditions with respect to air distribution and pollutant transport in a space capsule. Two ventilation methods were adopted: mixing ventilation (MV) and displacement ventilation (DV). A seated thermal manikin was centred in a computational domain representing the capsule in order to simulate the floating state of a crewmember. Carbon dioxide (CO2) was selected to represent the exhaled pollutant in the capsule macro-environment and the breathing micro-environment. The numerical results demonstrated that limited space air stability affects pollutant transport in the microgravity environment due to the gravitational sensitivity of capsule air. Moreover, the characteristics of the ventilation method depend on the limited space air stability condition. In the MV system, unstable conditions led to relatively stronger CO2 diffusion perpendicular to the exhaled mainstream, resulting in a less polluted breathing micro-environment. Conversely, stable conditions confined the exhaled CO2 to a limited layer near the level where it was released, resulting in a more polluted breathing micro-environment. Whereas in the DV system, very little difference was observed in the distribution of CO2 between stable and unstable conditions. In addition, the effect of ventilation rate on the distribution of CO2 was more obvious in the MV system than in the DV system. Under the same pollutant level in the MV system, the unstable condition consumed less energy than the stable condition. These results suggest that the unstable condition enables the more energy efficient removal of pollutants, and provides better air quality for crewmembers in a space capsule ventilated by MV. This study provides useful insights for ventilation design in space capsules.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. ISS, International Space Station; ECLSS, Environmental Control and Life Support System; MV, mixing ventilation; DV, displacement ventilation; UDF, user defined function; ACH, air changes per hour

References

  • Awbi, H.B.: Energy efficient ventilation for retrofit buildings. In: Proceedings of the 48th AiCARR international conference on energy performance of existing buildings, Baveno, 23–46 (2011)

  • Bjørn,E., Nielsen, P.V.: Dispersal of exhaled air and personal exposure in displacement ventilated rooms. Indoor Air 12, 147–164 (2002)

  • Bode, F., Nastase, I., Croitoru, C.V., Sandu, M., Angel, D.: A numerical analysis of the air distribution system for the ventilation of the crew quarters on board of the international space station. E3S. Web. Conf. 32, 01006 (2018)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bogatyrev, G.P., Gorbunov, A.V., Putin, G.F., Ivanov, A.I., Nikitin, S.A., Polezhaev, V.I.: A system for measurement of convection aboard space station. In: Proceedings of the 3rd Microgravity Fluid Physics Conference, Cleveland, 813–818 (1996)

  • Bosbach, J., Lange, S., Dehne, T., Lauenroth, G., Hesselbach, F., Allzei, M.: Alternative ventilation concepts for aircraft cabins. CEAS Aeronaut. J. 4, 301–313 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cao, G., Nielsen, P.V., Jensen, R.L., Heiselberg, P., Liu, L., Heikkinen, J.: Protected zone ventilation and reduced personal exposure to airborne cross-infection. Indoor Air. 25, 307–319 (2015)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cao, G., Awbi, H., Yao, R., Fan, Y., Sirén, K., Kosonen, R., Zhang, J.: A review of the performance of different ventilation and airflow distribution systems in buildings. Build. Environ. 73, 171–186 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deng, X., Gong, G.: Investigation of the combined effect of indoor air stability and displacement ventilation on pollutant transport in human breathing microenvironment. In: 40th AIVC, 8th TightVent and 6thventicool Conference (2019)

  • De la Torre, G.G., Mestre Navas, J.M., Guil Bozal, R.: Neurocognitive performance using the windows spaceflight cognitive assessment tool (WinSCAT) in human spaceflight simulations. Aerosp. Sci. Technol. 35, 87–92 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fu, S., Xu, X., Li, J., Pan, Z.: Carbon dioxide accumulation of space station crew quarters. J. Beijing University Aeronaut. Astronaut. 33, 523–526 (2007) (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Getling, A.V.: Rayleigh – Bénard Convection: Structures and Dynamics. World Scientific, Singapore (1998)

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Gong, G., Han, B., Luo, H., Xu, C., Li, K.: Research on the air stability of limited space. Int. J. Green. Energy. 7, 43–64 (2010)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gong, G., Deng, X.: Nature and characteristics of temperature background effect for interactive respiration process. Sci. Rep. 7, 8549 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goncharova, O.: Convection under low gravity: correctness of mathematical models. Microgravity. Sci. Tec. 19, 113–115 (2007)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Günther, G., Bosbach, J., Pennecot, J., Wagner, C., Lerche, T., Gores, I.: Experimental and numerical simulations of idealized aircraft cabin flows. Aerosp. Sci. Technol. 10, 563–573 (2006)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Karimipanah, T., Awbi, H.B.: Theoretical and experimental investigation of impinging jet ventilation and comparison with wall displacement ventilation. Build. Environ. 37, 1329–1342 (2002)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Melikov, A.K.: Human body micro-environment: the benefits of controlling airflow interaction. Build. Environ. 91, 70–77 (2015)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mulloth, L.M., Finn, J.E.: Air quality systems for related enclosed spaces: spacecraft air. In: Hocking, M. (ed.) The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry. Springer, Heidelberg (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/b107253

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Nielsen, P.V.: Control of airborne infectious diseases in ventilated spaces. J. R. Soc. Interface. 6, 747–755 (2009)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Owens, A., De Weck, O., Stromgren, C., Goodliff, K.E., Cirillo, W.: Supportability challenges, metrics, and key decisions for future human spaceflight. In: Proceedings of the AIAA Space and Astronautics Forum and Exposition, Orlando, 5124 (2017). https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2017-5124

  • Polezhaev, V.I.: Microacceleration regimes, gravitational sensitivity and methods of analyzing technological experiments in microgravity. Fluid. Dynam. 29, 608–619 (1994)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Polezhaev, V.I.: Convection and heat/mass transfer processes under space flight conditions. Fluid. Dynam. 41, 736–754 (2006)

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  • Qian, H., Li, Y., Nielsen, P.V., Hyldgaard, C.E., Wong, T.W., Chwang, A.T.: Dispersion of exhaled droplet nuclei in a two-bed hospital ward with three different ventilation systems. Indoor Air. 16, 111–128 (2006)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ren, S., Tian, S., Meng, X.: Comparison of displacement ventilation, mixing ventilation and underfloor air distribution system. In: Proceedings of the 2015 International Conference on Architectural, Civil and Hydraulics Engineering, Guangzhou, 79–82 (2015)

  • Son, C.H., Smirnov, E.M., Ivanov, N.G., Telnov, D.S.: CFD study of ventilation and carbon dioxide transport for ISS node 2 and attached modules. SAE Int. J. Aerosp. 4, 519–524 (2009)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smirnov, E.M., Ivanov, N.G., Telnov, D.S., Son, C.H.: CFD modeling of cabin air ventilation in the International Space Station: a comparison of RANS and LES data with test measurements for the Columbus module. Int. J. Vent. 5, 219–227 (2006)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sørensen, D.N., Voigt, L.K.: Modelling flow and heat transfer around a seated human body by computational fluid dynamics. Build. Environ. 38, 753–762 (2003)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turner, E.H., Son, C.H., Smirnov, E.M., Ivanov, N.G., Telnov, D.S.: Air circulation and carbon dioxide concentration study of international Space Station node 2 with attached modules. SAE Trans. 113, 1150–1154 (2004)

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang, Y., Gong, G., Xu, C., Yang, Z.: Numerical investigation of air stability in space capsule under low gravity conditions. Acta. Astronaut. 103, 81–91 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xu, C., Nielsen, P.V., Gong, G., Jensen, R.L., Liu, L.: Influence of air stability and metabolic rate on exhaled flow. Indoor Air. 25, 198–209 (2015)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xu, C.: Influence of indoor air stability on human respiratory microenvironment. Dissertation, Hunan University (in Chinese) (2014)

  • Zhou, Q., Qian, H., Re, H., Li, Y., Nielsen, P.V.: The lock-up phenomenon of exhaled flow in a stable thermally-stratified indoor environment. Build. Environ. 116, 246–256 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhu, Z.: The current situation of China manned aerospace technology and the direction for its further development. Acta Astronaut. 65, 308–311 (2009)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, Y., Liu, J., Pei, J., Li, J., Wang, C.: Performance evaluation of different air distribution systems in an aircraft cabin mockup. Aerosp. Sci. Technol. 70, 359–366 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zheng, Z., Zhang, J., Liang, Z.: Numerical simulation of upside air-supply bottom-side air-return symmetric ventilation in space station cabin. J. Harbin Inst. Technol. 39(2), 270–273 (2007)

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhu, S., Kato, S., Murakami, S., Hayashi, T.: Study on inhalation region by means of CFD analysis and experiment. Build. Environ. 40, 1329–1336 (2005)

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Building Environment and Energy Engineering, College of Civil Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha, 410082, Hunan, China

    Xiaorui Deng & Guangcai Gong

  2. Key Laboratory of Building Safety and Energy Efficiency, Ministry of Education, Hunan University, Changsha, 410082, China

    Xiaorui Deng & Guangcai Gong

Authors
  1. Xiaorui Deng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Guangcai Gong
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Guangcai Gong.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Deng, X., Gong, G. Comparison of Mixing and Displacement Ventilation under Limited Space Air Stability Conditions in a Space Capsule. Microgravity Sci. Technol. 32, 749–759 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12217-020-09802-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12217-020-09802-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation