Cyclone Precipitator Sub-Micron Particulate Separator

During previous planetary exploration missions, deleterious effects have been observed due to fine particulates including fouling mechanisms, altering thermal properties, obscuring optical systems, abrading textiles, and scratching surfaces. With near term goals to return to the Moon, lunar dust is of particular concern and can potentially negatively affect every lunar architecture system. To mitigate this concern, Mainstream proposes to leverage our knowledge garnered for cyclone precipitators currently being developed as a particulate concentrator for the Radionuclide Aerosol Sampler/Analyzer (RASA). For Phase I, we will utilized our existing robust CFD and in-house cyclone optimization toolset to modify the RASA concentrator geometry to better reflect NASArsquo;s separator requirements (i.e. lower volumetric flow rate, lower pressure drop). The design consisted of 34 parallel cyclones, each capable of 11 m3/min with a pressure drop of only 137 Pa. Combining the cyclones with our designed electrostatic agglomerator will result in a predicted separation efficiency gt;99% for all particles gt;0.3 mm. During Phase II, we will incorporate our QwikPure TripleGuardTM in-duct air purification system for microbial and fungal control. In addition, we will fabricate a full-scale system and experimentally demonstrate the system in relevant (e.g., reduced gravity, reduced pressure) environments.