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MICROGRAVITY SPINPOD

ROTATING VESSEL · FLOW DIAGNOSTICS · ME 170

A NASA Ames ME 170 project developing a rotating vessel and optical measurement setup for simulated microgravity research. Our team, Orbital Motion, is working on clearer views of fluid motion and suspended particles inside a rotating SpinPod.

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PROBLEM / APPROACH / OUTCOME

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PROBLEM. Rotating wall vessels are used to study conditions that mimic aspects of microgravity, but optical access and particle visibility limit measurements. The project aims to characterize fluid motion and particle behavior while the vessel rotates.

APPROACH. Developing an optically clear pod with axial support that leaves a laser sheet path through the circumferential wall and camera access through the opposite disc face. The measurement concept pairs planar particle image velocimetry with separate particle imaging. I am also working on the initial ANSYS Fluent model design.

STATUS. Concept development and requirements definition are in progress. Planned work compares fluid predictions with PIV and particle predictions with separate tracking measurements. A mechanically coupled bank of pods is part of the concept for parallel experiments.

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DETAIL B

SPECIFICATIONS

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PROJECT
NASA Ames project, Stanford ME 170
TEAM
Orbital Motion
ROLE
Team member; mechanical concept and CFD model design
METHODS
Planar particle image velocimetry and separate particle imaging
MODELING
ANSYS Fluent; initial model design
STATUS
Concept development; measurement and model validation planned
DETAIL C

REFERENCES

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LAB
NASA Ames GERMS Lab
BACKGROUND
Spinpod research, Scientific Reports (2021)
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SHEET 1 / INDEX
REV DATE DESCRIPTION BY
–2026-10-24INITIAL PROJECT SHEETCC
DRAWN BY COLIN HENRY CROWN
DATE 2026-10-24
TITLE MICROGRAVITY SPINPOD · SHEET 8
SCALE 1 : 1
UNITS MM
SIZE B
DWG NO. PRT-008
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