Air-Cooled Design of a Temperature-Swing Adsorption Compressor for Closed-Loop Air Revitalization Systems

This paper describes the mechanical design, thermal model development, and compression test results of a solid-state compressor prototype. This compressor utilizes the principle of temperature-swing adsorption compression and has no rapidly moving parts. Temperature-swing adsorption compressors (TSAC) have multiple applications in space exploration where acquisition, separation, purification, transportation or compression of gases are involved. NASA Ames Research Center (ARC) has developed a TSAC for potential application in a closed-loop air revitalization system (ARS) for a future spacecraft or crew exploration vehicle. Since the ARS of International Space Station (ISS) naturally serves as the baseline for future systems, we chose the design guidelines for this TSAC based on the ISS requirements. ARC has designed and successfully tested similar compressors that use a liquid cooling medium in the past. Considering the availability, handling, and safety factors of air compared to a liquid coolant in a spacecraft environment, the design of the current TSAC was developed based on air-cooling.