IRPI has a long history of microgravity research aboard drop towers, space shuttle, space stations, sounding rockets, and aircraft. Research entails fundamental aspects of fluids management including the development and demonstration of capillarity, wetting, geometric design, combustion, and many others.

Our experience in space spans several decades and includes projects aboard the International Space Station, Space Shuttle, MIR, and Skylab. Projects include environmental control and life support, propellant management, thermal systems, plant habitation, biotechnology, and more.

Surface forces in space and in microfluidic devices share a lot of similarities. Bubbles, wetting conditions, and capillarity in general play a large role in managing fluids and the development of lab-on-a-chip, organ-on-a-chip, and some MEMs devices. We are able to assist in the development of new devices through fundamental analysis, experimentation, prototyping, and computational modeling.

IRPI can offer mechanical design services and perform simulation and analysis using CFD and FEA tools for fluid, thermal, and structural analysis. In addition, we are familiar with Surface Evolver and SE-FIT® software for fluid statics computations of equilibrium surfaces.