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Smart Tanks for Space

Smart Tanks for Space

March 12, 2020 | No Comments

Atout is pleased to announce the award of two more patents on our Smart Tank and Smart Pipe technology. Atout’s Smart Tanks for Space* are tanks that know their own contents even in zero gravity or under severe sloshing conditions. The tank knows how much fluid it contains, how it is moving and how much force the sloshing will exert on the tank. The technology is based on Atout’s Smart Pipe technology that measures the flow of complex mixtures of fluids and solids in pipes. Our technology is now protected in the UK and the USA, see patents GB2546522B and
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Smart tanks, smart vessels and smart pipes for spacecraft using non-intrusive electrical capacitance tomography

Smart tanks, smart vessels and smart pipes for spacecraft using non-intrusive electrical capacitance tomography

February 7, 2020 | No Comments

Measurement of the mass and slosh forces in test tanks, satellite tanks and launcher tanks. Systems for ground-test applications are commercially available now, for example measurement of gas volume fraction in cryogenic liquids. Gauging propellant in microgravity or zero gravity conditions remains a significant technical challenge. Atout Process have demonstrated a smart space tank, which utilises electrical capacitance tomography (ECT) for the accurate real-time measurement of propellant or oxidiser mass and slosh torque vector. ECT is an imaging technique for visualising industrial processes containing dielectric materials. It can be used to investigate the internal dynamic behaviour by presenting a cross-sectional
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Atout chosen by UKSA as Case Study

Atout chosen by UKSA as Case Study

January 15, 2020

Atout is proud to have been chosen by the UK Space Agency as one of the case studies in its new brochure about the National Space Technology Programme. The project was jointly funded by UK Space Agency, Atout Process Ltd, and Catena Space Ltd in collaboration with Orbital ATK. Results indicate that the performance of ECT measurements in a real satellite tank can be made to levels of accuracy better than 1% and that Atout’s Smart Tanks for Space* concept is ready for engineering into real spacecraft.  *Mark of Atout Process Ltd
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New ECT Research System

New ECT Research System

October 14, 2019

Our new APL-C-900 ECT research system has just been upgraded and the performance specification updated. Contact us to get a copy. APL-C-900 Base System The APL-C-900 base system is required for all Atout ECT systems.  It incorporates the power supply and ethernet communication bus and includes the control PC (laptop) and the powerful range of APL software including: Data acquisition (real-time) software: •           multi-frequency operation 1MHz, 2.5MHz, 5 MHz square wave, •           acquire and display capacitances in fF in real-time, •           save data in .bcp format and .csv format, •           capable of undertaking calibration in rig without sensor removal, •           save and load calibration files as required.
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Smart Tanks for Space*

Smart Tanks for Space*

October 4, 2019

Atout Process, in collaboration with ArianeGroup, and DLR are very pleased to announce the first results from a full scale CFC Smart Tank section. In a world first, the primary Smart Tank measurement, Electrical Capacitance Tomography (ECT) has been successfully scaled up to 1m diameter for spacecraft applications. Ground based testing anticipates a target value down to 0.1%, in real time, for all fill levels, with sloshing propellant. The project has also successfully demonstrated gauging with tanks that include internal equipment, and has shown measurement of liquid nitrogen. Smart Tanks are being developed to provide reliable measurement of propellant mass
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Atout Process named as participant in major european project

Atout Process named as participant in major european project

February 18, 2014

Atout Process has been named as a participant in a major new research project. A European consortium, led by NEL (the National Engineering Laboratory, East Kilbride, UK) has been awarded a three-year research project to establish a reference measurement network and standards aimed at improving the accuracy of subsea multiphase flow measurement for the oil and gas industry.
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