NASA is developing new portable life support system (PLSS) technologies, which it is demonstrating in an unmanned ground based prototype unit called PLSS 2.0. One set of technologies within the PLSS provides suitable ventilation to an astronaut while on an EVA. A new component within the ventilation gas loop is a liquid-to-gas heat exchanger to transfer excess heat from the gas to the thermal control system's liquid coolant loop. A unique bench top prototype heat exchanger was built and tested for use in PLSS 2.0. The heat exchanger was designed as a counter-flow, compact plate fin type using stainless steel. Its design was based on previous compact heat exchangers manufactured by United Technologies Aerospace Systems, but was half the size of any previous heat exchanger model and one third the size of previous liquid-to-gas heat exchangers. The prototype heat exchanger was less than 40 cubic inches and weighed 2.6 lb. The water side and gas side pressure drops were 0.8 psid and 0.5 inches of water, respectively. Performance of the heat exchanger at the nominal pressure of 4.1 psia was measured at 94%, while a gas inlet pressure of 25 psia resulted in an effectiveness of 84%. These results compared well with the model, which was scaled for the small size. Modeling of certain phenomena that affect performance, such as flow distribution in the headers was particularly difficult due to the small size of the heat exchanger. Data from the tests has confirmed the correction factors that were used in these parts of the model

Jennings, Mallory

Quinn, Gregory

Strange, Jeremy

NASA Technical Reports Server

Prototype Vent Gas Heat Exchanger for Exploration EVA – Performance & Manufacturing 
Characteristics 
 
Gregory Quinn 
Jeremy Strange 
Mallory Jennings (NASA JSC) 
 
NASA is developing new portable life support system (PLSS) technologies, which it is 
demonstrating in an unmanned ground based prototype unit called PLSS 2.0.  One set of 
technologies within the PLSS provides suitable ventilation to an astronaut while on an EVA. A 
new component within the ventilation gas loop is a liquid-to-gas heat exchanger to transfer 
excess heat from the gas to the thermal control system’s liquid coolant loop.  A unique bench top 
prototype heat exchanger was built and tested for use in PLSS 2.0.  The heat exchanger was 
designed as a counter-flow, compact plate fin type using stainless steel.  Its design was based on 
previous compact heat exchangers manufactured by United Technologies Aerospace Systems, 
but was half the size of any previous heat exchanger model and one third the size of previous 
liquid-to-gas heat exchangers. 
 
The prototype heat exchanger was less than 40 cubic inches and weighed 2.6 lb.  The water side 
and gas side pressure drops were 0.8 psid and 0.5 inches of water, respectively.  Performance of 
the heat exchanger at the nominal pressure of 4.1 psia was measured at 94%, while a gas inlet 
pressure of 25 psia resulted in an effectiveness of 84%.  These results compared well with the 
model, which was scaled for the small size. Modeling of certain phenomena that affect 
performance, such as flow distribution in the headers was particularly difficult due to the small 
size of the heat exchanger. Data from the tests has confirmed the correction factors that were 
used in these parts of the model. 
 
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20120017344 2019-08-30T23:18:15+00:00Z


Prototype Vent Gas Heat Exchanger for Exploration EVA - Performance and Manufacturing Characteristics

NASA is developing new portable life support system (PLSS) technologies, which it is demonstrating in an unmanned ground based prototype unit called PLSS 2.0. One set of technologies within the PLSS provides suitable ventilation to an astronaut while on an EVA. A new component within the ventilation gas loop is a liquid-to-gas heat exchanger to transfer excess heat from the gas to the thermal control system s liquid coolant loop. A unique bench top prototype heat exchanger was built and tested for use in PLSS 2.0. The heat exchanger was designed as a counter-flow, compact plate fin type using stainless steel. Its design was based on previous compact heat exchangers manufactured by United Technologies Aerospace Systems (UTAS), but was half the size of any previous heat exchanger model and one third the size of previous liquid-to-gas heat exchangers. The prototype heat exchanger was less than 40 cubic inches and weighed 2.57 lb. Performance of the heat exchanger met the requirements and the model predictions. The water side and gas side pressure drops were less 0.8 psid and 0.5 inches of water, respectively, and an effectiveness of 94% was measured at the nominal air side pressure of 4.1 psia

Quinn, Gregory J.

  
Page 1 of 9 
 
 
Prototype Vent Gas Heat Exchanger for Exploration EVA – 
Performance & Manufacturing Characteristics 
 
Gregory J Quinn1 and Jeremy Strange.2 
United Technologies Aerospace Systems, Windsor Locks, Connecticut,06096 
Mallory Jennings3 
NASA Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, 77058 
NASA is developing new portable life support system (PLSS) technologies, which it is 
demonstrating in an unmanned ground based prototype unit called PLSS 2.0.  One set of 
technologies within the PLSS provides suitable ventilation to an astronaut while on an EVA. 
A new component within the ventilation gas loop is a liquid-to-gas heat exchanger to transfer 
excess heat from the gas to the thermal control system’s liquid coolant loop.  A unique bench 
top prototype heat exchanger was built and tested for use in PLSS 2.0.  The heat exchanger 
was designed as a counter-flow, compact plate fin type using stainless steel.  Its design was 
based on previous compact heat exchangers manufactured by United Technologies 
Aerospace Systems (UTAS), but was half the size of any previous heat exchanger model and 
one third the size of previous liquid-to-gas heat exchangers.  The prototype heat exchanger 
was less than 40 cubic inches and weighed 2.57 lb.  Performance of the heat exchanger met 
the requirements and the model predictions.  The water side and gas side pressure drops 
were less 0.8 psid and 0.5 inches of water, respectively, and an effectiveness of 94% was 
measured at the nominal air side pressure of 4.1 psia. 
I. Nomenclature 
acfm = actual cubic feet per minute 
lb = pounds 
psia = absolute pressure in pounds per square inch 
psid = differential pressure in pounds per square inch 
Px = pressure transducer 
Tx = thermocouple 
Vx = valve 
 
I. Introduction 
 As the United States looks to once again explore beyond low Earth orbit, the technologies necessary for the 
effort must be available to support the endeavor.  One of these technologies is the Portable Life Support System 
(PLSS) for a future exploration space suit.  While the PLSS on NASA’s Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) has 
successfully served our astronauts for over thirty years, the requirements necessary for missions to the moon, Mars 
or an asteroid preclude its use.  In order to meet the need for a new PLSS, NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) began 
incremental development of PLSS technologies in 2011 with their PLSS 1.0 breadboard test bed(1).  Results and 
lessons learned from PLSS 1.0 were used to design PLSS 2.0, which incorporates higher fidelity components in a 
packaged volume similar to what is anticipated for a new flight PLSS.  Differences in the ventilation loop schematic 
between PLSS 2.0 and the EMU PLSS have resulted in gas flow that no longer gets chilled in a condensing heat 
                                                          
1 Staff Research Engineer, Space Systems, One Hamilton Road, M/S 1A-2-W66, Senior Member 
2 Staff Systems Engineer, Space Systems, One Hamilton Road, M/S 1A-2-W66, nonmember 
3 Space Suit PLSS Fan Lead, Space Suit and Crew Survival Systems Branch, Crew and Thermal Systems Division, 
2101 NASA Parkway, Mail Code EC5, nonmember 
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20130011141 2019-08-31T00:19:17+00:00Z
  
Page 2 of 9 
exchanger. To compensate for the change, NASA added a small gas to water heat exchanger into their schematics to 
cool the ventilation flow(2). 
United Technologies Aerospace Systems (UTAS) was contracted to design and build the custom gas to 
liquid heat exchanger for NASA’s PLSS 2.0.  The challenge centered on achieving 85% effectiveness in a 
compact, lightweight design that had minimal pressure drop on the gas side and was corrosion resistant on the 
water side.  The original design requirements are shown in Table 1. During the program, the mass requirement 
was loosened to 2.0 lb, not including the compression fittings.  The resulting design was 50% smaller than any 
heat exchanger UTAS has designed or made, which added uncertainty to our sizing analysis and risk to the 
manufacturing process. Special considerations were successfully made to accommodate these unique aspects of 
the heat exchanger. 
 
Table 1: Heat Exchanger Design Requirements 
 
 
II. Analysis and Design Description 
A. Requirements 
The PLSS heat exchanger sizing process utilized a Hamilton Sundstrand custom plate-fin analytical model to 
define the optimum (minimum weight) design.  The model utilized a multivariable solver routine that varied overall 
heat exchanger envelop, fin layer count, and fin dimensions to reach a solution.  The solver was configured to meet 
all design constraints and performance requirements at the specified design point conditions.  Table 2 shows the 
relevant design point conditions and target requirements. 
Must be bubble tight at MDP 
  
Page 3 of 9 
Table 2 – Design Point Requirements 
Parameter Low Pressure  
Design Point 
High Pressure  
Design Point 
(Interface) Hot Fluid Type Nitrogen Nitrogen 
(Interface) Hot Flow 6.5 acfm (7.4 lbm/hr) 6.5 acfm (45.1 lbm/hr) 
(Interface) Hot Inlet Pressure 4.1 psia 25.0 psia 
(Interface) Hot Inlet Temperature 105°F 105°F 
(Interface) Cold Fluid Type Water Water 
(Interface) Cold Flow 200 lbm/hr 200 lbm/hr 
(Interface) Cold Inlet Temperature 60°F 60°F 
(Constraint) HX Effectiveness ≥ 85% ≥ 85% 
(Constraint) Hot Pressure Drop ≤ 0.5 inH2O -
(Constraint) Cold Pressure Drop ≤ 0.8 psid -
(Constraint) Hot Duct I.D. 0.63 in 0.63 in 
(Constraint) Cold Duct I.D. 0.31 in 0.31 in 
For these conditions, the heat exchanger design was limited thermally by the high pressure case due to its much 
higher nitrogen mass flow rate.  Conversely, the limiting pressure drop case was at the low pressure due to the 
higher velocities.  Both conditions were accounted for during the design process.  
B. Design Selection 
The selection of heat exchanger type (plate-fin, shell-tube, etc.) is typically driven by some combination of 
performance, cost, weight/volume, and structural limitations.  For this application, the plate-fin heat exchanger type 
was selected due to (1) high performance per unit volume and (2) company experience manufacturing these devices.  
Typically, liquid-to-gas heat exchangers tend towards a cross-flow configuration due to large disparities in velocity 
and allowable pressure drop between fluids.  However, the high water-to-nitrogen mass flow ratio in this unit 
allowed for the use of a high effectiveness counterflow configuration.  This resulted in a smaller, more compact core 
design. 
C. Header Design 
The nitrogen side header configuration provided a unique performance challenge for this heat exchanger.  
Typically, the interface duct diameters are sized such that the duct velocity head is relatively low compared to core 
(fin) pressure drop.  This design guideline ensures uniform flow distribution through the core fin layers.  However, 
due to interface constraints the header velocity head was more than two times the core pressure drop.  In order to 
address this issue, the heat transfer area was sized with extra margin and worst case fin tolerances were applied to 
the model. 
III. Hardware 
A brazed, compact heat exchanger approach was used for the unit, with 347 stainless steel and nickel-based 
braze alloy as the primary materials. The headers were machined parts, rather than welded assemblies because 
of the small size of unit.  Flared AN fittings were specified by NASA, and were machined from 347 stainless 
steel for welding and for corrosion resistance. The headers were passivated and then welded onto the brazed 
core. Figure 1 is a photograph of the final item. 
 
 
  
Page 4 of 9 
 
Figure 1: Brazed and welded PLSS heat exchanger 
 
The nitrogen side of the heat exchanger has a maximum design pressure (MDP) of 25 psig and was proofed 
and leak checked at 37.5 psig, while the water side of the heat exchanger has a maximum design pressure of 55 
psig and was proofed and leak checked at 82.5 psig.  Leak checks were conducted by pressurizing one set of 
passages to 1.5 x MDP with nitrogen, submersing the item under water and checking for visible bubbles on the 
outside of the item. Inter-path leakage was checked at the same time by looking for bubbles at the exit of the 
unpressurized headers. No leaks were found. 
Among the requirements for mass, volume and effectiveness, the effectiveness and the volume were 
considered the most important for PLSS 2.0. Early iterations of the heat exchanger analysis indicated that the 
performance would be best met with a heat exchanger that weighed slightly more than 1.5 lb (exclusive of 
fittings). As a result, the as-built heat exchanger with headers and fittings is 2.57 lb.  Estimates for the mass of 
the four AN fittings was 0.57 lb, resulting in a heat exchanger mass and header mass of 2.0 lb. 
The heat exchanger volume without fittings met the requirements of 40 cubic inches.  It fits in a prismatic 
envelope measuring 6.87 inches x 1.78 inches x 3.2 inches, for an overall volume of 39.1 cubic inches.  A solid 
model of the unit was provided to NASA for PLSS 2.0 packaging design work, which allowed the actual heat 
exchanger to easily integrate into the PLSS after it was delivered. 
IV. Test Setup & Instrumentation 
Performance testing was conducted on the PLSS heat exchanger to determine its pressure drop and 
effectiveness at the nominal and worst case design conditions.  Figure 2 shows the schematic of the test setup 
for sub-ambient gas pressure and Figure 3 shows the schematic for above-ambient gas pressure. The heat 
exchanger and headers were insulated in all tests. However the first set of tests indicated that heat was leaking 
into the lines from the room, particularly around thermocouple T2, which provided a key measurement for 
calculating the heat exchanger’s effectiveness.  As a result, the measured outlet gas temperature was high in 
tests 1-7, and resulted in a slight under-reporting of the effectiveness for that set of tests. These tests were not all 
repeated, though, because all of them met the performance requirements.  Additional insulation from the 
thermocouples up to the heat exchanger was added for tests 8-11.  
 
  
Page 5 of 9 
Figure 2: Heat exchanger test schematic for sub-ambient conditions 
 
E-5
Electronic 
Flow Meter
In-Line Heater
Water 
Tank
Variac
Pump
T1
T3
P1
FM
P1
T2
T4
Constant 
Temp. 
Bath
Float 
Meter
P2
V1
N2
Over-temp 
Controller
 
Figure 3: Heat exchanger test schematic for above-ambient conditions 
V. Procedure 
Table 3 contains the test matrix and results. Tests were conducted in order to verify the effectiveness and 
pressure drop of the heat exchanger. For tests with sub-ambient gas pressure, the vacuum pump pulled ambient 
air through the setup and heat exchanger. Pressure was set by adjusting valve V2 and air flow was set by 
adjusting valve V1. For tests with above-ambient gas pressures, the nitrogen flow rate and pressure in the heat 
exchanger was controlled by adjusting the nitrogen supply regulator and valve V2, respectively. Gas inlet 
temperature was set by adjusting the heater power via the variac. The water inlet temperature was set by 
  
Page 6 of 9 
adjusting the bath temperature.  Water flow rate was controlled using a dial potentiometer on the positive 
displacement pump. 
Test points were held for a minimum of five minutes to ensure that steady state was achieved in the heat 
exchanger.  Three test points, 8, 10 and 11, were run for 10 to 20 minutes, which verified that steady state had 
actually been achieved in the remaining tests. 
The gas-side heat exchanger pressure drop measurements included the pressure drop through several inches 
of small fittings.  A “Tare” was done on the fittings for the sub-ambient test conditions by repeating the 
measurements with a short tube in place of the heat exchanger. Measurements were done with the same 
pressure, flow rate and inlet temperature as the test points shown in Table 3. The reported pressure drop is 
adjusted by subtracting out the fitting losses on both the gas and the water side. Measurements of the gas side 
fitting losses at 14.9 psia and 25 psia were not made, and the raw pressure drop values are reported as an upper 
bound for tests 5-9. 
 
Table 3: Test Matrix and Results 
Test 
Point 
Gas side Water side Effectiveness 
Comments 
Inlet 
Temp 
Outlet 
Temp Pressure P 
Flow 
Rate 
Inlet 
Temp 
Outlet 
Temp 
Flow 
Rate P Measured 
°F 
(±.9) 
°F 
(±.9) 
Psia 
(±0.3) 
inches 
H2O 
(±0.05) 
ACFM 
(±0.3) °F (±.9) 
°F 
(±.9) 
lb/hr 
(±1) 
Psid 
(±.04) % (±2) 
1 105 58 4.3 0.11 5.7 55 55 197 0.36 94% 
Nominal pressure, 
high air temp, 
nominal flow 
2 90 57 4.3 0.11 5.7 55 55 198 0.35 93% 
Nominal pressure, 
nominal air temp, 
nominal flow 
3 90 57 4.2 0.11 6.3 55 55 198 0.41 94% 
Nominal pressure, 
nominal air temp, 
high flow 
4 90 57 4.2 0.15 5.4 55 55 196 0.42 94% 
Nominal pressure, 
nominal air temp, 
low flow 
5 75 58 14.9 < 6.68 5.9 55 56 197 0.44 85% 
Ambient pressure, 
low air temp, 
nominal flow 
6 90 59 14.9 <6.68 5.9 55 56 197 0.44 90% 
Ambient pressure, 
nominal air temp, 
nominal flow 
7 105 60 14.9 <6.74 5.9 55 57 196 0.44 91% 
Ambient pressure, 
high air temp, 
nominal flow 
8 76 58 25.0 <13.0 6.2 54 55 196 0.34 84% 
High pressure, 
low air temp, 
nominal flow 
9 90 59 25.0 <13.2 6.2 54 56 196 0.34 85% 
High pressure, 
nominal air temp, 
nominal flow 
10 91 56 4.1 0.15 6.0 54 55 196 0.43 95% 
Nominal pressure, 
nominal air temp, 
nominal flow 
11 75 55 4.1 0.19 6.0 54 54 197 0.43 95% 
Nominal pressure, 
low air temp, 
nominal flow 
  
Page 7 of 9 
VI. Results & Discussion 
Results are shown in Table 3 and the uncertainties shown were calculated using the Kline-Mclintock 
method. All but one of the tested conditions yielded calculated effectiveness values that meet the requirement of 
85%. Nominal conditions were represented by test points 2 and 10 and yielded heat exchanger effectiveness 
values of 93% and 95%, respectively. Pressure drop on the air side for these two tests was 0.11 inches of water 
for test 2 and 0.15 inches of water for test 10.  The difference is likely due to the 0.3 acfm increase in flow from 
test point 2 to 10.  All of the tests conducted at 4.1 psia yielded gas side pressure drops of less than 0.20 inches 
of water, which meets the requirement 0.5 inches of water maximum pressure drop.  The “tare” pressure drop 
on the air side at 4.1 psia ranged from 1.4 to 2.0 inches of water. The water side pressure drop ranged from 0.35 
to 0.44 psid, and met the requirement of 0.8 psid maximum pressure drop. The “tare” pressure drop on the water 
side ranged from 0.29 to 0.44 psid. 
The one condition that yielded an effectiveness of less that 85% was the high pressure, low inlet temperature 
condition shown in test point 8, with a measured effectiveness of 84%.  This was not surprising, because the 
high gas pressure conditions were predicted to be the most challenging for achieving the required 85% 
effectiveness. While the 75 °F inlet test at 25 psia just missed the mark, the 90 °F inlet test (test 9) resulted in an 
effectiveness of 85 %.  
Figure 4 shows the trend of increasing effectiveness with decreasing gas pressure. This trend was predicted 
by our analytical model and is the reason why we sized the heat exchanger to meet the 85% effectiveness 
requirement at 25 psia gas pressure.  Figures 5 and 6 show that the gas inlet temperature and the gas flow rate 
have no significant effect on the heat exchanger performance.  This is because the properties of nitrogen and air 
do not change significantly with temperature within the specified range. The gas flow regime is also constant 
from 5.5 to 6.5 acfm so that the film coefficient and Nusselt Number of the heat exchanger do not vary 
significantly within that range.  While the higher gas flow rates affected the NTU’s and the capacitance ratio, 
the effect is small with the NTU’s being over 5 and the capacitance ratio near zero in all cases. These small 
effects are somewhat counter-balanced by the reduced effect that lateral conduction has with the higher flow 
rate. 
 
 
Figure 4: Higher inlet gas pressure reduces the effectiveness of the heat exchanger 
 
80%
85%
90%
95%
100%
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Ef
fe
ct
iv
en
es
s
Gas Inlet Pressure (psia)
Heat Exchanger Effectiveness Change with Gas Pressure,
90 °F Gas, 6 ACFM, 55 °F Water
  
Page 8 of 9 
 
Figure 5: Gas inlet temperature does not affect heat exchanger performance 
 
 
Figure 6: Gas flow rate does not affect heat exchanger performance within the tested range 
VII. Conclusion 
The PLSS gas to liquid heat exchanger met the leakage, volume and nominal performance requirements of 
the program. At 2.0 lb, the heat exchanger mass was 0.5 lb above the desired value, but acceptable for the 
current technology readiness of the overall PLSS.  Performance of 85% effectiveness was met in all but one of 
the tests, which resulted in a calculated effectiveness of 84% ±2%.  Pressure drop on the gas side at 4.3 psia was 
below 0.20 inches of water and well within the requirement of 0.5 inches of water. Pressure drop on the water 
was also below the limit of 0.8 psid, with a maximum pressure drop of 0.44 psid.  These results point to some 
opportunities for reducing the heat exchanger size on future iterations of NASA’s PLSS. 
Acknowledgements 
The authors would like to acknowledge NASA Johnson Space Center and Gregg Weaver at Jacobs 
Technology funding the heat exchanger program. 
80%
85%
90%
95%
100%
70 75 80 85 90 95 100 105 110
Ef
fe
ct
iv
en
es
s
Gas Inlet Temperature (°F)
Heat Exchanger Effectiveness Change with Gas Inlet 
Temperature, 4.1 psia, 6 ACFM, 55 °F Water
80%
85%
90%
95%
100%
5.2 5.4 5.6 5.8 6.0 6.2 6.4
Ef
fe
ct
iv
en
es
s
Gas Flow Rate (ACFM)
Heat Exchanger Effectiveness Change with Gas Flow Rate,
4.1 psia, 90 °F, 55 °F Water
  
Page 9 of 9 
References 
1Watts, C., et al., Space Suit Portable Life Support System Test Bed (PLSS 1.0) Development and Testing, AIAA-2012-3458, 
International Conference on Environmental Systems (ICES), San Diego, CA, July-2011. 
 
2Campbell, C., Advanced EMU Portable Life Support System (PLSS) and Shuttle/ISS EMU Schematics, a Comparison, AIAA-
2012-3411, International Conference on Environmental Systems (ICES), San Diego, CA, July-2011. 


Prototype Vent Gas Heat Exchanger for Exploration EVA - Performance and Manufacturing Characteristics

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