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>> This is the chamber insert
for the Advanced Combustion via Microgravity Experiments project
otherwise known as ACME.
ACME is a set of five combustion experiments that will be carried
out on the International Space Station
in the Combustion Integrated Rack, otherwise known
as the CIR built here at NASA Glen Research Center
and in Cleveland.
The five ACME experiments all deal
with laminar non-premixed flames gas fueled flames.
So, this insert is the second to go
up to be used in the CIR facility.
The one that's up on this space station is now is
for droplet combustion experiments.
Here with gasses, they'll flow through this end
of the chamber insert.
So both gas connections, electrical connections
and water cooling connections are made
at this end of the insert.
Here in the center part of the insert is
where the science happens.
So, we have different burners for the five experiments.
They plug into this end of the insert.
And an example is the spherical burner that's sitting
in the front of the chamber insert.
So, the gaseous fuel is ignited
with a hot wire igniter that's seen here
in its retracted position.
But it rotates in and will energize a hot wire
to ignite the flame.
The hot wire is similar to what you find in a toaster oven.
Then we'll be making mostly optical measurements
of the flames.
There's the suite of four different cameras outside
the chamber.
Then there's one camera that's inside the chamber.
They'll be used to support the real time operations.
We also have other non-imaging optical sensors.
We'll have a set of thermopile detectors
for measuring the broadband radiation from the flames.
And then we also have a set
of three photomultiplier tube modules.
They're here within the chamber insert.
Those will be used for detecting extinction of the flames
and for measuring the chemiluminescent emission
from excited species, so OH Star and CH Star.
In making all of these measurements, we're hoping
to improve our fundamental understanding of flames
and combustion in general and use
that to improve practical combustion here on the Earth,
improving fuel efficiency, reducing pollutant emission
and for one of the experiments, we also are using its results
to improve spacecraft fire safety.
So ACME is primarily about our energy use
and environment here on the Earth.
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