Space shuttle mission includes UD experiment

Discovery and UD's Chemical Engineering

Oct. 26, 2007--When the space shuttle Discovery lifted off from Cape Canaveral in Florida on Tuesday morning, Oct. 23, it carried with it an experiment from the University of Delaware.

Eric Furst, UD associate professor of chemical engineering, was on hand as the shuttle blasted off with a crew of seven on a two-week mission during which it will rendezvous with the International Space Station.

As part of its payload, Discovery carried with it an experiment on structural and rheological transitions of field-responsive fluids in microgravity prepared by Furst and his students and postdoctoral researchers as part of the InSPACE2 (Investigating the Structure of Paramagnetic Aggregates from Colloidal Emulsions) program.

Furst said a long-standing aim of complex fluid rheology has been to identify the fundamental roles that interactions on nanometer and micrometer length scales play in determining the rheological properties of these materials. Among the many types of complex fluid systems of interest, he said magnetorheological (MR) fluids provide a stunning example.

“MR suspensions exhibit a rapid transition from a liquid- to solid-like state upon the application of a magnetic field,” Furst said. “The MR effect is due to induced interactions between dispersed, micrometer-sized superparamagetic particles. This rheological transition has the potential to provide the basis for technologies, ranging from actively controlled dampers and actuators to magnetically sealed bearings and sensitive stress transducers. Applications to space exploration include potential use in robots, rovers and crew suits, with mobility augmentation, especially for endurance and fatigue countermeasure designs that aid in lifting, moving and supporting loads during extra-vehicular activities.”

Furst said the MR fluid samples will be studied in the Microgravity Science Glovebox aboard the International Space Station. The objectives of the study are to understand, at a microscopic level, their aggregation, percolation and stress transduction mechanisms in an environment free from gravitational effects, such as sedimentation. By studying the behavior of these samples under the influence of magnetic fields in a microgravity environment, the team hopes to gain a better understanding of the physics of these unique materials, he said.

Furst watched the space shuttle launch from the guest bleachers, about four miles from the launch pad on Banana Creek. “It's moments like these--and in this case, truly a moment--that really make the job worth it,” Furst said.

Furst said weather was a concern but eventually cleared enough for Kennedy Space Center officials to declare the launch a “go.”