Replacement of Hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC) -225 Solvent for Cleaning and Verification Sampling of NASA Propulsion Oxygen Systems Hardware, Ground Support Equipment, and Associated Test Systems

Since the 1990's, NASA's rocket propulsion test facilities at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) and Stennis Space Center (SSC) have used hydrochlorofluorocarbon-225 (HCFC-225), a Class II ozone-depleting substance, to safety clean and verify the cleanliness of large scale propulsion oxygen systems and associated test facilities. In 2012 through 2014, test laboratories at MSFC, SSC, and Johnson Space Center-White Sands Test Facility collaborated to seek out, test, and qualify an environmentally preferred replacement for HCFC-225. Candidate solvents were selected, a test plan was developed, and the products were tested for materials compatibility, oxygen compatibility, cleaning effectiveness, and suitability for use in cleanliness verification and field cleaning operations. Honewell Soltice (TradeMark) Performance Fluid (trans-1-chloro-3,3, 3-trifluoropropene) was selected to replace HCFC-225 at NASA's MSFC and SSC rocket propulsion test facilities

Ecological analysis of beetle (Coleoptera) density and diversity as bioindicators of accelerated succession in the UMBS FASET experiment.

This study assessed beetle (order: Coleoptera) density and diversity as bioindicators for changes in northern Michigan forests undergoing succession. At UMBS, forests are succeeding from an aspen and birch dominated canopy to that of oak, pine, and maple. To accelerate succession, the Forest Accelerated Succession Experiment (FASET) girdled all the aspen and birch trees during spring of 2008 allowing climax species to take hold. This site is compared to an ecologically similar control site, Ameriflux. We collected beetle specimens at both sites at three forest levels (ground, 1-meter, and canopy) over a five day period. We grouped beetles to according to species and identified to family. We found the FASET sites more diverse than the Ameriflux site in both Shannon's and Simpson's diversity indices. Statistically, there was no significant difference between the two plots in species composition, number of total individuals, or number of families present. There were, however, significant differences between the three forest levels in the total number of individuals and the total number of species. From the aggregate data of the two plots, the ground traps displayed the least similarity to the higher levels in Sorenson's similarity. We identified 14 families from 157 individual beetles. These families represent trends in association of families to specific habitats, however there was no clear trend of detritivore-abundance in the FASET plot as we predicted. Distribution of families Staphylinidae, Cucujidae, and Tenebrionidae showed clustering in one or two forest-heights with the near exclusion of the other/s, further suggesting a correlation between habitat specificity and family. Distribution patterns both between trap-heights and between plots varied according to several groupings and will be discussed further as biondicators of change in the FASET forest.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/64516/1/Farner_Konner_McLaughlin_Stoll_2009.pd