A teleoperated facility for variable gravity level fluid physics experimentation

Abstract

A facility to perform experiments on fluid physics and specially on the mechanical behavior of liquid bridges has been designed and built. The facility consists of a velocity controlled centrifuge than can be rotated at speeds up to 10 rpm with and arm of 1.5 m where the experiment container (a Plateau tank in which different mechanical stimuli can be imposed to the liquid column) can be fixed at any location. The rotating system transmits out a video signal for diagnosis and besides control and monitoring signals are routed to the external data management system. The facility and its control system has been implemented in a way that it is possible to control and monitor the experiments either locally from a control workstation or the entire facility can enter in a mode to be controlled remotely. In this case, the control workstation is located far away the facility (indeed in a different city) and linked with data lines. The purpose of this exercise is to gain experience on the minimum data bandwidth needed and the impact on orbital platforms fluid science experimentation of transmission delays and data loses. The latter effects are implemented in the data stream in a way that can be simulated at a rate much higher than that will be experienced otherwise.