NASA SBIR 2014 Solicitation

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/Zip, Phone)
Creare, Inc.
P.O. Box 71
Hanover, NH 03755 - 3116
(603) 643-3800

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/Zip, Phone)
Paul Sorensen
phs@creare.com
P.O. Box 71
Hanover, NH 03755 - 3116
(603) 640-2340

CORPORATE/BUSINESS OFFICIAL (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/Zip, Phone)
Robert Kline-Schoder
contractsmgr@creare.com
P.O. Box 71
Hanover, NH 03755 - 3116
(603) 640-2487

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 2
End: 4

Technology Available (TAV) Subtopics
In-Situ Resource Utilization - Mars Atmosphere/Gas Chemical Processing is a Technology Available (TAV) subtopic that includes NASA Intellectual Property (IP). Do you plan to use the NASA IP under the award?
No

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (Limit 2000 characters, approximately 200 words)
NASA has recognized that in future exploration and human missions to Mars, the problem of Martian dust contaminating gas processing systems and human habitats will need to be solved. The dust content of Martian atmosphere is only sparsely known, and in particular the variation over the surface and the dust particle size distribution are largely unknown. Creare proposes to develop a compact, integrated dust separation and measurement system that is capable of measuring dust size distribution and removing 99% of all dust particles larger than 0.3 micron. The two-stage separator is robust and scalable, combining the strengths of inertial and electrostatic precipitators with a novel Mie scattering sizing sensor. The dust separation and measurement system will be able to integrate with and handle flow requirements as defined for the NASA Mars 2020 Announcement of Opportunity Demonstration Oxygen Production Plant and shows a clear development path to future in situ resource utilization (ISRU) production plants. In Phase I, Creare proposes to develop, design, and test key components of the design in the lab to determine their feasibility for Martian operation. In Phase II, Creare plans to develop and deliver a prototype compact, integrated dust separation and measurement system.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS (Limit 1500 characters, approximately 150 words)
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.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS (Limit 1500 characters, approximately 150 words)
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.