FOAM CASTING AND UTILIZATION IN SPACE (FOCUS)
Research Area: Materials Science
Expedition(s): 21/22
Principal Investigator(s): ● PalBárczy, Admatis Ltd, Miskolc, Hungary
● Bela M. Somosvári, Admatis Ltd, Miskolc, Hungary
● Janos Szőke, Admatis Ltd, Miskolc, Hungary
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
FOam Casting and Utilization in Space (FOCUS) is an industrial materials experiment to
investigate foam formation and stability in microgravity. The main objective is a technological
demonstration that the new technology is capable of producing particle stabilized aqueous
foams under microgravity. The project focuses on the development of a multi-capillary foam
generator that has already been successfully tested under normal and elevated gravity
conditions. Results are utilized in the development of an alternative foam production
technology for metallic and other foamable systems.
RESULTS
Successful microgravity foaming
experiment has been carried out aboard
of the International Space Station (ISS)
using a fully stand-alone equipment. The
multi-capillary foam generators were
pre-infiltrated with aqueous suspension
using controlled gas flow produce foams
under microgravity. On the basis of the
comparison with terrestrial reference
experiments, researchers noted that
minimal foam structure differences were
found at 0.08 l/min gas flow rate. At
higher flow rates, foams blown in
microgravity had the largest average
bubble sizes. Gravity-insensitive foaming procedure can be important at those technologies
that use various foaming directions measured to gravity vector. Foam stability was not
improved by eliminating gravity. Similar phenomenon has been found in previous macrogravity
measurements using the same suspension. Foam decay in the case of this experiment’s
suspension was therefore not connected with gravity induced drainage. Foam volumes were
increased during microgravity conditions. It was concluded that using the foam generators
infiltrated with FOCUS Suspension, foam volumes depended on the gravity level as less gravity
level gave more foam. This supports former results in increased gravity conditions.
View of European Space Agency (ESA) hardware used for
foam experiment. Image courtesy of ESA.