Aerodynamic Boundary-Layer Scaling and Enclosure Regimes Across Spaceflight Plant Growth Hardware

Executive Summary & Fluid Mechanics Overview

Plants cultivated in extraterrestrial habitats encounter a physical environment devoid of natural gravity-driven buoyancy ($\text{Gr} \to 0$), expanding unstirred fluid boundary layers around vegetative canopies and drastically elevating aerodynamic resistance ($r_a = 1/g_{bl}$).

This comprehensive 3D Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) investigation compares five distinct spaceflight plant growth systems across four gravitational regimes: Earth (1.0g), Mars (0.38g), Moon (0.166g), and Microgravity (0g).

Explore our interactive 3D Spaceflight Flow Explorer featuring hardware-accurate Navier-Stokes streamline pathlines (VEGGIE top fan suction jet, APH lateral inports to perimeter ceiling exhausts), Darcy-Forchheimer canopy porous drag turbulence, and the BRIC-LED 4h ON / 4h OFF Diurnal Photoperiod & Condensation Simulator.

4D Animated Time-Resolved Fluid Dynamics & Transport Suite

High-framerate time-dependent animations capturing aerodynamic spin-down, bioaerosol spore dispersion, headspace gas exchange, and canopy turbulence collision.

Animation 1 | Transient Fan Spin-Down & Conductance Collapse across Gravities. Time evolution of canopy velocity decay $U(t)$ and boundary layer conductance collapse $g_{bl}(t)$ comparing Earth (1g buoyancy floor) against Lunar, Martian, and 0g microgravity regimes.

Animation 2 | Fungal Spore Bioaerosol Clearance Kinetics & Cabin Export. Tracking 3 µm *Fusarium oxysporum* spore clearance: VEGGIE open suction exports 100% of spores into crew quarters, whereas APH achieves closed-loop HEPA containment (0% cabin discharge).

Animation 3 | Petri Dish Headspace Gas Dynamics & Moisture Condensation. 24-hour time series of headspace $\text{O}_2$ drawdown and ethylene ($\text{C}_2\text{H}_4$) accumulation comparing CARA square plates ($\pm$ Light, micropore tape) vs sealed BRIC/BRIC-LED round dishes.

Animation 4 | APH Opposing Cross-Jets Collision & Canopy Updraft Wave. Cross-flow momentum collision along the sagittal midline ($x=227\text{ mm}$), generating turbulent boundary layer stripping without inducing mechanical damage.

Evaluated Spaceflight Hardware Platforms

Publication Figures & Aerodynamic Analysis

Figure 1 | 3D spaceflight hardware domain architectures, mesh layout, and operational flow paths across VEGGIE, APH, CHROMEX, CARA square dishes, and BRIC-LED round dishes.

Figure 2 | Dimensionless Richardson number ($\text{Ri} = \text{Gr}/\text{Re}^2$) scaling and convective regime trajectories across Earth, Mars, Moon, and Microgravity.

Figure 3 | Canopy aerodynamics, vertical velocity profiles $u(z)$, boundary-layer conductance ($g_{bl}$), and stagnant volume fractions.

Figure 4 | Scalar ventilation dynamics, Local Mean Age of Air ($\text{LMA}$), and transient canopy flushing decay curves.

Figure 5 | Spaceflight biosecurity, pathogen containment, and bioaerosol dispersion trade space.

Figure 6 | 3D spatial flow topologies, streamline ribbons, and canopy wall shear stress probability distributions.

Figure 7 | Operational airflow extremes matrix: stagnation vs low draft vs nominal vs high blast.

Figure 8 | NASA Space Shuttle CHROMEX / PGU multi-scale thermal-fluid dynamics, PGC creeping flow, and hypoxia linkage to flight *ADH* transcriptomics.

Figure 9 | Transient aerodynamics of fan failure, boundary-layer collapse, and physiological starvation across gravities.

Figure 10 | Petri dish science sample carrier microenvironments: CARA square dishes ($\pm$ Light) vs BRIC / BRIC-LED round dishes ($\pm$ Light) across spaceflight hardware.

Quantitative Benchmark Tables

Table 1 | Physical, Aerodynamic, and Environmental Control Specifications