NASA develops a silent space fan

Although the International Space Station (ISS) is as large as a 5-bedroom house, the prospect of being limited to operating in a house flying 400 km high for many months still makes many people apprehensive. People living inside will have to deal with limited space, lack of privacy, feelings of surveillance and the difficulty of performing daily tasks in a microgravity environment.

However, one thing that few people think about about life on the ISS is noise. The constant sound from cooling fans for life support systems and critical equipment can be annoying, and there’s nowhere to go.

Now, researchers at NASA have developed a new Quiet Space Fan to reduce noise on human space vehicles, Space reported on November 7. They plan to share this design with industry for use in future commercial space stations. By reducing noise at the source, NASA hopes people will be able to hear each other more clearly, recognize alarms more quickly, reduce the risk of hearing loss, and reduce the discomfort that loud noises cause.

The original fan prototype was designed at NASA’s Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, in 2009. Its design is similar to the previous Orion cabin fan, but acoustic measurements show the new model is about 10 times quieter. decibels compared to similar sized commercial fans.

Experts continued to develop this prototype and produced a larger fan model with doubled airflow and pressure. By comparison, the original prototype can provide enough airflow for a large car or van, while the new fan model can provide enough airflow for a house.

“This work will deliver significant benefits including volume and mass savings as noise control equipment is no longer bulky, or even unnecessary, reducing system pressure loss from mufflers and muffler, reducing power consumption through reduced system pressure loss and highly efficient fan design, meeting the acoustic requirements of space vehicles to provide a safe and pleasant acoustic environment for astronauts,” said Chris Allen, manager of the Acoustics Office at NASA.

Improving human spaceflight conditions will make space exploration more comfortable and efficient for future astronauts. The development of silent fans in space vehicles is a step toward that goal.