In all missions to the surface of Mars, the moon, or other rocky bodies, dust may pose a serious problem for processing equipment and human habitats. In particular, the processing of Martian atmospheric gas to generate consumables planned for upcoming missions will be affected by the presence of dust in the atmosphere. Dust mitigation measures will be needed for other missions as well, such as the planned Lunar rover mission to look for the presence of water at the Lunar poles or future missions to Near-Earth Objects.
Cyclone particulate separators and electrostatic precipitators are ubiquitous in the process industry, from automobile air filters to vacuum cleaners, and from dust filters in sawmills to flue gas cleaners in waste incinerators. As energy efficiency and emissions controls gain in importance, optimal operation of these particle separators becomes increasingly vital. Typical industrial installations are operated at design points determined through empirical data and not globally optimized. With our physics based modeling effort undertaken in this project, we will provide the necessary design tools to allow optimal design and operation of particle separators.
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