Quick Disconnect for High Pressure Mate/De-Mate

Dusty, dirty environments can be very tough on connectors. The abrasive nature of dust and dirt particles can rub and wear down connector surfaces through friction, and have a negative effect on coatings used on gaskets to seal equipment. Dust on umbilical connections can also make mating and de-mating electrical and fluid connections difficult, hazardous, and unreliable. NASA's Quick Disconnect (QD) design consists of columnar arrays of parallel filaments. All the pins of the electrical connector easily penetrate the barriers when the umbilicals are brought together. They are wiped clean of dust when they penetrate the barrier and mate cleanly and reliably. Likewise, the male end of a fluid connector penetrates the filament arrays of both connector ends. Since the filament arrays are oriented perpendicular to each other, the entire circumference of the connector is contacted by the filaments that stretch around, conform to, and sweep off dust from the mating surface ensuring a clean and secure connection.

The Low Separation Force Quick Disconnect device uses an innovative seal arrangement and flow path to eliminate separation force from line pressure. A radial design ensures a low separation force regardless of line pressure. Ten holes around the internal seal cancel loads due to balanced pressure; thus, the central force exerted on the device is due to the springs fixed internally. The device also provides for additional optional characteristics including a self-aligning feature from a compliant mount and a self-sealing mechanism that keeps dust out of the device. The Low Separation Force Quick Disconnect device is designed to transport pneumatics and cryogenic fluid. Due to the low separation force and overall design, the system requires less heavy and high-strength support structures than conventional designs; the design permits lighter retention systems and reduces deflection variations. Aerospace specific uses of the invention include flight-to-ground, flight-to-flight and surface-system applications. Other uses of the invention include any mechanism in which fluid is being transferred from ground to a vehicle or another system, especially where a high line pressure is used.

These connectors are designed to be used in harsh environments and to withstand rough handling, such as being stepped on or rolled over by wheelbarrows or light vehicles. If the demated connectors are dropped or placed on the ground, the end caps will shield them from damage and contaminants. When mated, the seal between the housings and end caps keeps contaminants out. The end caps are latched to the housings so that the caps cannot be unintentionally opened; this latch can be opened only by depressing the levers. The spring used to open or close the cap is constructed of a shape memory alloy, allowing the cap to be opened and closed an almost infinite number of times. The cap actuation levers are designed so that only a 3/4-inch pull is needed to open the cap a full 190 degrees. The housings can accept most commercial-off-the-shelf electrical or fluid connectors (including those designed for cryogenics), thus eliminating the need for specialized connectors in hostile environments. The housings can also be grounded and scaled up or down to accommodate connectors of different sizes. The housings can be constructed of steel, aluminum, composites, or even plastic, depending on the environment in which they will be used and material cost constraints.

Space and ground launch support related hardware often operate under extreme pressure, temperature, and corrosive conditions. When dealing with this type of equipment, it is frequently necessary to run wiring, tubes, or fibers through a barrier separating one process from another with one or both operating in extreme environments. Feedthroughs used to route the wiring, tubes, or fibers through these barriers must meet stringent sealing and leak tightness requirements. This affordable NASA feedthrough meets or exceeds all sealing and leak requirements utilizing easy-to-assemble commercial-off-the-shelf hardware with no special tooling. The feedthrough is a fully reconfigurable design; however, it can also be produced as a permanent device. Thermal cycling and helium mass spectrometer leak testing under extreme conditions of full cryogenic temperatures and high vacuum have proven the sealing capability of this feedthrough with or without potting (epoxy fill) on the ends. Packing material disks used in the construction of the device can be replaced as needed for rebuilding a given feedthrough for another job or a different set of feeds if potting is not used for the original feedthrough build. (Potting on one or both sides of the sleeve provides double or triple leak sealing protection). Variable Compression Ratio (VCR) connectors were adapted for the pressure seal on the feedthrough; however, any commercial connector can be similarly adapted. The design can easily be scaled up to larger (2" diameter) and even very large (12" or more) sizes.

NASA's system was developed for smaller-scale, space-based applications. However, the technology is scalable for larger industrial and municipal water treatment applications. Implementation of the Ammonia Recovery System could significantly reduce nitrogen content from water treatment processes, meaningfully improving the quality of water. This system offers a novel way to reduce nitrogen water pollutants, while allowing for the nitrogen to be collected and reused- reducing environmental and public health risks and providing an environmentally friendly fertilizer option. NASAs environmental solutions work to sustain life on earth through space based technology The adaptable nature of this system gives it potentially broad applications in a wide variety of industries; it is particularly ideal for on-site remediation of wastewater in places like condo complexes, hotels and water parks. Current methods of ammonia recovery could not meet NASAs mission requirements, so a new process was devised to optimize for high ammonia selectivity, simplicity, low volume , low power usage and zero contaminants in the effluent. To do this, NASA designed a novel regenerable struvite-formation system for the capture of ammonia. This system has three primary functions: 1) Removal of ammonia from wastewater using a media that is highly selective for ammonia 2) Capture of the ammonia for later use (e.g., as a fertilizer) 3) Regeneration of the capture media for reuse in the system