NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Scientists and payload developers can get more information on International Space Station research facilities by contacting the ISS Payloads Office or at 281-244-6187.

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Overview | Description | Applications | Operations | Results | Publications | Imagery

Facility Overview


Brief Facility Summary

The Fluid Physics Experiment Facility (FPEF) is a Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) subrack facility used to investigate fluid physics phenomena in microgravity. The FPEF is housed in the Ryutai (fluid) experiment rack along with the Solution Crystallization Observation Facility (SCOF), Protein Crystallization Research Facility (PCRF), and Image Processing Unit (IPU).

Facility Manager(s)

Tai Nakamura, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Japan

Co-Facility Manager(s)

Information Pending

Facility Developer(s)

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Tsukuba, , Japan

Sponsoring Agency

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)

Expeditions Assigned

17,18,19/20,21/22

Previous ISS Missions

Information Pending

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Facility Description

Facility Overview

• The Fluid Physics Experiment Facility (FPEF) is a Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) subrack facility used to investigate fluid physics phenomena in microgravity in the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM), Kibo, onboard the International Space Station (ISS).



• The FPEF is located in the Ryutai (fluid) experiment rack with the Solution Crystallization Observation Facility (SCOF), Protein Crystallization Research Facility (PCRF), and Image Processing Unit (IPU) subrack facilities.

Description

The Fluid Physics Experiment Facility (FPEF) is a Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) subrack facility located in the Ryutai (fluid) rack; it is used in investigations of fluid physics phenomena in microgravity. The FPEF consists of the core section and the mission section. The core section contains observation equipment, control equipment, and miscellaneous experiment support systems. The mission section, which is known as the experiment cell, can be exchanged according to the purpose of the experiment.

The FPEF's observation capabilities include liquid bridge overview observations, three-dimensional flow-field observations, ultrasonic velocity profile measurement, and surface-flow rate observations that note the flow pattern of the Marangoni convection (liquid is put in motion as if stirred by an invisible spoon) in the sample inside the experiment cell.

The FPEF is housed in Ryutai, a JAXA multipurpose payload rack system that transports, stores, and supports experiments and subrack facilities aboard the International Space Station (ISS), including the following JAXA subrack facilities:

• Solution Crystallization Observation Facility (SCOF) is equipped with several microscopes to measure changes in morphology and growth conditions (temperature and concentration) of crystals simultaneously.


• Protein Crystallization Research Facility (PCRF) controls peltier elements that provide temperature profiles suitable for target proteins.


• Image Processing Unit (IPU) receives image data from various subrack facilities and encodes the data, then transfers the encoded data to system lines.

The FPEF was launched to the International Space Station (ISS) on STS-123/1J/A. FPEF facilities may be controlled by the ISS crew or remotely by the Ryutai rack operator on duty at the User Operations Area in the Space Station Integration and Promotion Center. Linked by computer to the payload aboard the ISS, the rack operator routinely checks payload integrity, temperature control, and working conditions of ISS research payloads.

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Operations

Facility Operations

Ryutai, which contains the Fluid Physics Experiment Facility (FPEF) and other subrack facilities, was transported to the International Space Station (ISS) in the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM), Kibo, aboard STS-123/1J/A. After Kibo was attached to the ISS, Ryutai was transferred to a rack location inside Kibo. After installation and checkout of the rack, subrack facility operations began, and the rack now operates in accordance with the science schedule.

The FPEF provides experiment cells with electrical resources (power, signal, video) through electrical connectors and fluid resources (argon, water) through quick disconnects (QDs). The experiment cell may be exchanged in accordance with the experiment's purpose. The experiment cell consists of liquid bridge formation equipment, heating disk, cooling disk, sample cassette, surface-flow velocity measurement assembly, and structure subsystem. Users are permitted to design and fabricate their own mission sections, providing that requirements for the core section and mission section interface are satisfied.

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Results/More Information

Information Pending

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Availability

Onboard ISS

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Results Publications

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Ground Based Results Publications

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ISS Patents

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Related Publications

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Related Websites

Fluid Physics Experiment Facility

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Imagery

Fluid Physics Experiment Facility (FPEF). Image courtesy of JAXA.
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NASA Image: ISS018E005708 - View of the Fluid Physics Experiment Facility (FPEF) in the Japanese Experiment Module, Kibo.
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NASA Image: ISS020E016214 (1 July 2009) --- Canadian Space Agency astronaut Robert Thirsk, Expedition 20 flight engineer, prepares the Fluid Physics Experiment Facility (FPEF) for the planned Marangoni Surface experiment in the Kibo laboratory of the International Space Station.
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NASA Image: ISS020-E-048792 - Canadian Space Agency astronaut Robert Thirsk, Expedition 20/21 flight engineer, holds Fluid Physics Experiment Facility/Marangoni Surface (FPEF MS) Core hardware in the Kibo laboratory of the International Space Station.
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NASA Image: ISS021E020304 - NASA astronaut Jeffrey Williams, Expedition 21 flight engineer, works with Fluid Physics Experiment Facility/Marangoni Surface (FPEF MS) Core hardware in the Kibo laboratory of the International Space Station. Williams first inserted the Marangoni Inside (MI) cassette in the MI Core for a leak check, and then installed the MI Core into the FPEF MI Body. The Marangoni convection experiment in the FPEF examines fluid tension flow in micro-G.
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