Design of a novel 3DOF clinostat to produce microgravity for bioengineering applications

This work presents the design of a novel 3DOF (3 Degrees of Freedom) clinostat to produce microgravity. Such a clinostat is novel because it does not contain an internal hatchery as other clinostats. This peculiarity is unique and allows this machine to produce better results in terms of a smaller microgravity generation. This 3DOF clinostat possesses a set of nonlinear dynamic equations that describe the partial accelerations of each DOF. The mean microgravity generated at the center of the clinostat can be computed using such partial accelerations. In this work, a microgravity of around 10^-3 g has been achieved, which is a smaller microgravity generated by a RPM (Random Positioning Machine), which is also a clinostat. Results of this work are verified via intensive simulation studies in the form of graphs for different rotational frame speeds of the clinostat since this variable can substantially modify the desired outcomes. A smaller microgravity generator can be directly translated to a more accurate representation of true microgravity in outer space, producing a huge impact on bioengineering applications, since this clinostat allows performing outer space studies on earth with faithful results and with a minimum cost.