The Combustion Integrated Rack (CIR) is an experiment facility installed in the

International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ...

(ISS). It includes an optics bench, combustion chamber, fuel and oxidizer control, and five different cameras for performing combustion experiments in microgravity. The Fluids and Combustion Facility (FCF) accommodates the unique challenges of working with fluids and combustion processes in microgravity and provides services and capabilities comparable to those found in traditional Earth-based laboratories. The FCF occupies two powered racks on the ISS: the Combustion Integrated Rack (CIR) and the Fluids Integrated Rack (FIR). The FCF is a permanent modular, multi-user facility that accommodates

microgravity The term micro-g environment (also μg, often referred to by the term microgravity) is more or less synonymous with the terms ''weightlessness'' and ''zero-g'', but emphasising that g-forces are never exactly zero—just very small (on the I ...

science experiments on board the ISS. The FCF supports sustained, systematic research in the disciplines of fluid physics and combustion science. The CIR is used to perform combustion experiments in microgravity. The CIR can be reconfigured easily on

orbit In celestial mechanics, an orbit is the curved trajectory of an object such as the trajectory of a planet around a star, or of a natural satellite around a planet, or of an artificial satellite around an object or position in space such as a p ...

to accommodate a variety of combustion experiments. It consists of an optics bench, a combustion chamber, a fuel and oxidizer management system, environmental management systems, and interfaces for science diagnostics and experiment specific equipment. For diagnostic purposes, five different cameras are available for use by the investigator. The CIR features a 100-litre combustion chamber surrounded by optical equipment and diagnostic packages, including a

gas chromatograph Gas chromatography (GC) is a common type of chromatography used in analytical chemistry for separating and analyzing compounds that can be vaporized without decomposition. Typical uses of GC include testing the purity of a particular substance, ...

. Experiments are conducted by

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from the

Glenn Research Center NASA John H. Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field is a NASA center within the cities of Brook Park and Cleveland between Cleveland Hopkins International Airport and the Rocky River Reservation of Cleveland Metroparks, with a subsidiary facilit ...

(GRC) Telescience Support Center (TSC). The CIR has been designed for use with the Passive Rack Isolation System (PaRIS), which connects the rack to the ISS structure using eight spring-damper isolators and a special set of umbilicals. Modelling and analysis show that the PaRIS can attenuate much of the U.S. Laboratory's vibration and provide a much quieter environment than a simple hard-mounted rack. The CIR is the only combustion research facility on board the ISS. Combustion Integrated Rack (CIR) - ISS Facility - NASA

Facility Operations

The Combustion Integrated Rack (CIR) chamber can operate at low (0.02 atm) or high (up to 3 atm) atmospheric pressures. Tools are not required to open the chamber or change or service the eight windows on the chamber. Gases are delivered through the bottles on the front of the rack. The exhaust package features a filter that can recycle the gas used or convert it to an expellable gas. The CIR can be used to explore droplet, solid fuel, and gaseous fuel combustion.

Gallery

File:183367main CIR2.jpg, The Combustion Integrated Rack flight unit at Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio. File:ISS-18 Sandra Magnus with the Combustion Integrated Rack.jpg, Sandra Magnus as she works with the Combustion Integrated Rack (CIR) in the U.S. Laboratory, Destiny, during maintenance. File:358571main CIR4.jpg, Video screen shot of Multiuser Droplet Combustion Apparatus Flame Extinguishment Experiment (MDCA-FLEX) Ignition 1 on March 5, 2009, (GMT 64/17:21) inside the Combustion Integrated Rack. The methanol fuel droplet is being formed on the tip of a needle (droplet size approximately 2.5 mm). Image courtesy of NASA. File:MDCA Destiny ISS.jpg, NASA astronaut Scott Kelly, Expedition 26 commander, works on the Combustion Integrated Rack (CIR) Multi-user Drop Combustion Apparatus (MDCA) in the Destiny laboratory of the International Space Station. File:ISS-35 Chris Cassidy with Multi-user Droplet Combustion Apparatus.jpg, Expedition 35 Flight Engineer Chris Cassidy removes and replaces one of the Fuel Reservoirs with the MDCA Chamber Insert Assembly (CIA) File:FLEX Test023.webm, 3mm droplet of heptane burning in microgravity as part of the FLEX experiment conducted in the Combustion Integrated Rack on the ISS. Atmosphere is 33.4% oxygen (balance nitrogen) at a pressure of 0.713 atm. This back-lit view shows the droplet as it burns as well as small particles of soot which coalesce. The flame itself is generally not visible.

References

{{Include-USGov , agency=NASA , url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/science/experiments/CIR.html , article=Combustion Integrated Rack (CIR)

External links

The FCF Combustion Integrated Rack: Microgravity Combustion Science Onboard [sic] the International Space Station - NASA

The Fluids and Combustion Facility: Enabling the Exploration of Space - NASA

ISS Fluids and Combustion Facility - ISS Research Program - NASA, Glenn
Science facilities on the International Space Station Destiny (ISS module)

Facility Operations

See also

Gallery

References

External links