"Novel Gas Bearing Turbo Compressor and Expander Technology for Space Applications"

Future space missions require more and higher complexity air and gas handling, and for this compressors and expanders are becoming key components. Applications are heat pump spacecraft cooling, extraterrestrial hydrogen (fuel) production and storage and air filtration and revitalization. Gas bearing turbo compressor and expander technology can enable this with significant advantages especially relevant in space: small size and weight, maintenance free and reliable, high efficiency, no outgassing, and low micro-vibration emission and no pulsation of the gas and air streams. This paper presents the design results of a 260 krpm, ~1 kW breadboard model of an ammonia heat pump gas bearing compressor, underlining the challenges and benefits.