宇宙空间站的给排水
siceman
siceman Lv.12
2004年02月21日 14:25:37
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Plumbing the Space Station May 4, 2001 Heres where the Space Station is right now! Have you ever wondered about plumbing in space? Which way does water flow in a weightless environment? Can toilets flush in free-fall? Here on Earth, plumbing is something most of us take for granted. Turn the faucet and water comes rushing out. Flush the toilet and water disappears. On the International Space Station, its not that simple. And if you spring a leak, the plumbers are all at least 235 miles (378 km) and a rocket launch away.

Plumbing the Space Station
May 4, 2001

Heres where the Space Station is right now!

Have you ever wondered about plumbing in space? Which way does water flow in a weightless environment? Can toilets flush in free-fall? Here on Earth, plumbing is something most of us take for granted. Turn the faucet and water comes rushing out. Flush the toilet and water disappears. On the International Space Station, its not that simple. And if you spring a leak, the plumbers are all at least 235 miles (378 km) and a rocket launch away.


The Destiny module during construction, showing the complex pipes and wires in the walls of the Station.

Designers of the Station had to contend with these problems as they laid out a complex network of tubes, pipes and ducts between the Stations outer skin and its inner walls. Like veins and arteries in the human body, the Stations plumbing circulates vital liquids and gases that keep the crew and the Station in good health.

Most of the time the Station has to operate completely on its own. Shuttle visits bring new supplies and equipment, but between visits the Station runs on a fixed amount of air and water. That means the Station must operate efficiently. The Shuttles cargo capacity is limited and valuable, so recycling on the Station is necessary to reduce the supplies of water and air it needs. While a house on Earth can drain its wastewater to sewer lines that take the wastes to a municipal treatment plant, the Station must have its own water treatment plant.

Efficient, leak-free recycling of everything that flows through the Stations pipes is essential. This network of tubing and hardware, which is far more elaborate than that of the typical house, must be compact, lightweight, corrosion-resistant, leak-resistant, microbe-resistant, and highly dependable. To meet this tall order, the pipes of the Space Station are made from titanium, stainless steel, or Teflon wrapped in metal mesh. In comparison, household plumbing is typically made of inexpensive PVC and copper.


Water flowing through a pipe on Earth. The air rises and the water flows along the bottom.


Water in a pipe in a weightless environment. The air can form a core flowing through the center of the pipe, surrounded by water.

The plumbing on the Station must also operate without the assistance of gravity. When building a house on Earth, its enough to just lay the pipe and then let gravity or the pressure of the city water supply create the flow. In the free fall of Earth orbit, liquids and gases would stay in the pipes and stagnate.

Dave Williams is system manager for Environmental Control and Life Support Systems (ECLSS) at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. He says, "You have to look at the lack of gravity carefully, because normally fluids would just sit there, unless you had the head pressure to force them. In a house, you can count on gravity when you flush a toilet to take that water and put it out in the sewer."

To keep the fluids flowing, the Stations plumbing system includes dozens of pumps and fans that create the pressure needed to keep the liquids and gases moving.


Click above to see a diagram of the recycling system for the Space Station.

The plumbing must also have a higher level of cleanliness than systems on Earth. The Station system recycles the urine of the crew and laboratory animals and returns the water, purified, to the drinking supply. The health of the crew is of particular concern in space. Like plumbers, there are few doctors nearby! Microbes are a danger even to the Station itself, as shown by the problems on Mir with fungal growth. Keeping microbe levels in the water supply to an absolute minimum is a necessity. The Stations water recycling system results in sterile, contaminant-free water that is much cleaner and safer than the average tap water on Earth.
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siceman
2004年02月21日 14:26:40
2楼
你曾对太空中的给排水感到疑惑吗?在没有重力的环境里,水怎麽流法?在惯性飞行状态下,厕所能冲水吗? 在地球上,给排水对我们来说,是最轻而易举的事情之一。拧开龙头,水就冲出来,冲完厕所水也就看不见了。在国际空间站,就没有那末简单。而且,如果漏水了,管道工全都在至少235英里(378公里)以外的“一箭(火箭)之遥”。
           
  宇宙空间站的设计师们,在他们给空间站外壳和内墙敷设管道网时,不得不绞尽脑汁来对付这些问题。就像人体的静脉和动脉一样,在空间站的给排水系统里循环着为保持宇航员和空间站良好状态所必须的液体和空气。
           
  在绝大部分时间里,空间站必须完全靠它本身来运行,航天飞机的来到,带来新的供给和装备,但在两次飞行之间,空间站要靠定量的空气和水来运转。这就是说,空间站必须能有效地运转。航天飞机的货仓是有限和宝贵的,因此,空间站必须有再生系统,以减少它所必需的水和空气的供给。在地球上,一幢房子可以将废水排入下水道,送到市里的处理站,空间站则必须有自己的处理站。
           
  对流过空间站管道内的一切东西进行有效、防漏的再生系统是重要的。比典型住宅所用的要精细得多的这种管道和五金器具网络,必须紧凑、轻巧、防锈、防漏、防菌,而且要高度可靠。为了符合这种苛求,空间站的管道都是用钛、不锈钢、或聚氯乙烯包金属网芯制成的。相比之下,典型住宅的给排水系统则用塑料和铜制成。
           
  空间站的给排水系统,还必须在没有重力支持的情况下工作。在地球上盖房子,只要埋下管子,让重力或城市供水压力形成水流就行了。在地球轨道的惯性飞行中,水和空气将停留在管道中,并造成淤塞。
           
  戴夫·威廉斯是在德克萨斯州休斯顿太空中心环境控制和生活支持系统(ECLSS)的系统经理。他说:“你必须认真考虑缺乏重力的问题,因为在正常情况下,除非有压力推动,流体将停留在那儿。在住宅里,当你冲厕所时,你可以指望重力将它送入下水道。”
           
  为了使流体流动,空间站给排水系统有几十个水泵和风扇以创造压力来保持流体和空气的流动。
           
  给排水系统还必须具有比地球上同类系统更高的清洁度。空间站系统将宇航员和实验动物的尿液再生,回收其水分,经过过滤,供作饮用。在宇宙空间,宇航员的健康是至关重要的问题.像管道工一样,附近几乎没有医生。细菌是一大威胁,即使对空间站本身来说亦是如此,就像在米尔(Mir) 号上真菌繁殖的问题那样。将饮水中的真菌水平保持到一个绝对的最低水平是必要的。空间站的再生系统可以得到过滤的、无污染的水,它比地球上自来水的平均水平要清洁得多,安全得多。
           
  惯性飞行环境对浴室和水龙头设计也提出了特殊要求。像那些典型的大批量生产的家用水龙头,在空间站没法使用。
           
  “对于水龙头,那是大不相同的,”戴夫说:“对于喝水,我们通常将水盛在一个密封容器里--它让我想起饮料袋一类的东西。你将袋子挂到分配器上,选择你的需要量,再按下电钮。分配出定量的水以后,它就会停止。然后,你就可以关上水龙头,不再管它。”
           
  空间站的个人卫生间和地面上的也显得大不相同。传统的厕所没有重力根本不起作用。空间站用特殊的设备来满足身体需要。两个独立的机器用气流创造出真空,帮助宇航员把大小便排出。
           
  毫无疑问,所有这些对宇航员来说,就像在家里一样及时。这就是太阳系里最超前的给排水的目标--工作完美得使宇航员们得心应手。最后还得指出,在太空的工作是一种满时工作,没有人愿浪费时间去叫管道工。
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hai_
2004年02月21日 16:51:45
3楼
气体液体可以循环利用,那固体呢?固体的废物直接排到太空里?
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neardespring
2004年02月24日 22:26:04
4楼
We r the pumpers?! hehe i like it!maybe the space pumper would be my dream!
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rockfan
2004年02月25日 19:25:25
5楼
看到了希望。
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weiyanjiehappy
2005年03月26日 01:26:22
6楼
很好,我很受用
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lxingzhi@co163
2005年05月15日 09:36:32
7楼
太棒了楼主你真是太有魄力了谢谢
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