Preparing the 'flow boiling heat transfer at low gravity' experiment for the 72nd ESA parabolic flight campaign. Parabolic flights treat passengers and experiments to a rollercoaster ride, flying angled at 49º 30 times per flight. They are used to conduct short-term scientific and technological investigations in microgravity and reduced gravity, to test instrumentation before use in space, to validate operational and experimental procedures, and to train astronauts for spaceflight.
This experiment studies flow boiling heat of a fluid in a 4 mm tube at hypergravity and micro-gravity conditions. The heat and mass transfer process of self-rewetting fluids, or binary mixtures that have a surface tension that increases with temperature, are investigated in a single-groove heat pipe model.
This experiment is run by the Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development and the University of Naples "Federico II".