Today,
vacuum tests for the spheres and the micro pumps were carried out to test the
volume changing capabilities of SAM’s spheres. In the finished structure the
volume change between two neighbouring spheres will result in a shape change of
the entire structure. For today’s test two inflatable spheres were connected by
a micro pump (Bartels Mikrotechnik GmbH) and tested first at ambient pressure
and then in the vacuum chamber. It can be confirmed that the pumps worked in vacuum
conditions, but the volume change was too slow (especially by considering the
short micro gravity time of the sounding rocket experiment of roughly 140s).
Further research will be focused on increasing the flow rate or maybe changing
to more powerful pumps. Thanks to the Strathclyde students Thomas Perry and
Paul Hammond for getting the micro pumps ready for today’s test.
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