A team of researchers from Georgia Tech has proposed a Magnetohydrodynamic Drive for Hydrogen and Oxygen Production in Mars Transfer. This new approach uses a magnetohydrodynamic electrolytic cell to separate and extract oxygen and hydrogen gas without moving parts. This removes the need for a forced water recirculation loop and associated equipment

Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) drive is a method for propelling vehicles using only electric and magnetic fields. It accelerates an electrically conductive propellant with magnetohydrodynamics. The fluid is directed to the rear and as a reaction, the vehicle accelerates forward. 

Magnetohydrodynamics is a model of electrically conducting fluids that treats all interpenetrating particle species together as a single continuous medium. It is primarily concerned with the low-frequency, large-scale, magnetic behavior in plasmas and liquid metals.

Fortunately, a team of researchers from Georgia Tech has proposed a “Magnetohydrodynamic Drive for Hydrogen and Oxygen Production in Mars Transfer” that combines multiple functionalities into a system with no moving parts

According to DARPA, magnets can generate magnetic fields of up to 20 Tesla, which could potentially result in a 90% efficiency in a magnetohydrodynamic drive. However, the best efficiency demonstrated in a magnetohydrodynamic drive to date was 1992 on the Yamato-1, a 30m vessel that achieved 6.6 knots with an efficiency of around 30%.

MHD drives have the potential for high efficiency compared to traditional propulsion systems. They directly convert electrical energy into thrust without the need for mechanical components like propellers or turbines, which can lead to energy losses. 

MHD drives work better in ocean water than in fresh water because ocean water has higher electrical conductivity, reducing resistance for the MHD drive. Superconducting magnets are ideal because they have zero resistance, thus eliminating energy losses and allowing for stronger magnetic fields.

The concept of magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) was first developed in 1942 by Hannes Alfvén. Alfvén’s discovery of what are now known as Alfvén waves was a major breakthrough in plasma physics. In 1970, Alfvén received the Nobel Prize in physics for his work in the field of MHD. 

The idea of an MHD drive was first imagined in the 1960s. In 1961, W. A. Rice patented a propulsion system that used the reaction force of an electromagnetic pump to propel a ship. This encouraged many researchers in the United States to study MHD propulsion. 

In 1992, Japan successfully operated a ship with an MHD drive in Kobe harbor. The ship, named Yamato-1, had two MHD thrusters that used seawater as the electrically conducting fluid

A team of researchers from Georgia Tech has proposed a Magnetohydrodynamic Drive for Hydrogen and Oxygen Production in Mars Transfer. The drive is a system that combines multiple functionalities without any moving parts

The drive uses a magnetohydrodynamic electrolytic cell to extract and separate hydrogen and oxygen gas without moving parts in microgravity. This removes the need for a forced water recirculation loop and related equipment, such as centrifuges or pumps. 

A magnetohydrodynamic drive is a method for propelling vehicles using only electric and magnetic fields. The fluid is directed to the rear, causing the vehicle to accelerate forward. 

The word “magnetohydrodynamics” comes from “magneto-” meaning magnetic field, “hydro-” meaning water, and “dynamics” meaning movement. The field of MHD was started by Hannes Alfvén, who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1970 for his work.

Georgia Tech has several propulsion labs, including:

• Propulsion and Combustion Group: A multidisciplinary team of faculty and students that explore the complex systems that make up modern propulsion devices and energy systems. 
• Ben T. Zinn Combustion Laboratory: A leading hub for research in combustion, propulsion, and energy. 
• High-Power Electric Propulsion Laboratory (HPEPL): Located in the Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering. 
• Aquatic Propulsion Lab: Holds weekly meetings for local faculty and students, as well as remote collaborators. 
• Space Systems Design Lab: Focuses on the green monopropellant propulsion system. 
• Aerospace Systems Design Laboratory: Uses the Georgia Tech Hybrid Electric Analysis Tool (GT-HEAT) for hybrid and electric aircraft designs. 

The Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia. It was established in 1885 and opened its doors to students in 1888. The school has satellite campuses in Savannah, Georgia; Metz, France; Shenzhen, China; and Singapore

Magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) is a propulsion system that uses magnets to propel liquid metal. It can also be used to create Lorentz forces during aerocapture when the flow is most ionized and conductive

Magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) is a field of study that combines electromagnetism and fluid mechanics to describe the flow of electrically conducting fluids. It’s also known as magnetofluid dynamics or hydromagnetics. 

MHD is used in several branches of physics, including solar physics, astrophysics, and plasma physics. MHD physics is mainly concerned with the effects of the magnetic field on the dynamic conducting fluid. 

MHD is used to understand the solar terrestrial environment by modeling the solar-terrestrial environment. This combination of fluid dynamics and Maxwell’s equations is known as MHD. 

MHD controls the generating and structuring of the solar magnetic fields. It causes the accumulation of magnetic non-potential energy in the solar atmosphere and triggers the explosive magnetic energy release, manifested as violent solar flares and coronal mass ejections.

Within the next fifteen years, NASA, China, and SpaceX plan to send the first crewed missions to Mars. In all three cases, these missions are meant to culminate in the creation of surface habitats that will allow for many returns and – quite possibly – permanent human settlements. This presents numerous challenges, one of the greatest of which is the need for plenty of breathable air and propellant. Both can be manufactured through electrolysis, where electromagnetic fields are applied to water (H₂O) to create oxygen gas (O₂) and liquid hydrogen (LH₂).

While Mars has ample deposits of water ice on its surface that make this feasible, existing technological solutions fall short of the reliability and efficiency levels required for space exploration. Fortunately, a team of researchers from Georgia Tech has proposed a “Magnetohydrodynamic Drive for Hydrogen and Oxygen Production in Mars Transfer” that combines multiple functionalities into a system with no moving parts. This system could revolutionize spacecraft propulsion and was selected by NASA’s Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program for Phase I development

The idea of using MHD forces for liquid pumping is explored in the 1990 thriller The Hunt for Red October, where a stealth soviet submarine powered by an MHD drive defects to the United States. Although it’s fun to see Sean Connery playing the role of a Soviet submarine commander, the truth is that submarine MHD propulsion is very inefficient. Our concept, on the contrary, works in the microgravity environment, where the weak MHD force becomes dominant and can lead to mission-enabling capabilities.”

“Both approaches can potentially lead to a new generation of electrolytic cells with minimum or no moving parts, hence enabling human deep space operations with minimum mass and power penalties. Preliminary estimations indicate that the integration of functionalities leads to up to 50% mass budget reductions with respect to the Oxygen Generation Assembly architecture for a 99% reliability level. These values apply to a standard four-crew Mars transfer with 3.36 kg oxygen consumption per day.”

Said Romero-Calvo:

“We were studying the fundamental magnetohydrodynamic flow regimes that arise when we apply a magnetic field to water electrolyzers in spaceflight conditions,” Romero-Calvo explained. “The Blue Origin experiment, in combination with our current collaboration with Prof. Katharina Brinkert’s group at the University of Warwick, will help us predict the movement of oxygen bubbles in microgravity and it hints at how we can build a future water electrolyzer for humans.”

We have to prove that this technology can work with other systems in space to produce oxygen for astronauts because the ultimate goal of this proposal is to safely send people to Mars or any other long-term space destinations,” Romero-Calvo stated. “Furthermore, we need to carefully assess the reliability of the final product and build the interfaces that connect it with other subsystems

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