SUBICE

WEEVIL

WEEVIL (the Water Emission of Vapour from Ice in the Laboratory) is an experimental setup to study gas plumes arising from the sublimation of icy, porous and dusty media.

WEEVIL (the Water Emission of Vapour from Ice in the Laboratory) is an experimental setup to study gas plumes arising from the sublimation of icy, porous and dusty media. The main method of measuring gas profiles (density, temperature and velocity) is passive radiometry of the 557 GHz water rotational line. The goal is testing the capabilities of radiometry in determining internal properties of samples and to gain insight into the sublimation of astrophysical ices. 

WEEVIL logo
Logo of the WEEVIL experiment.

A sophisticated internal cooling system using liquid nitrogen ensures stable temperature of the sample and radiometer compounds and mitigates the impact of the vacuum chamber on the gas plume. The movable sample holder allows vertical scanning of gas profiles. 

WEEVIL CAD
Full view of the WEEVIL CAD model.
WEEVIL CAD cross-section
Cross-sectional view of the WEEVIL system.

Gas simulations:

Simulation of gas dynamics inside the WEEVIL chamber using DSMC (Direct Simulation Monte Carlo) is used during the design stage of the experiment and in the analysis of radiometric data.

Gas density from sublimed water ice sample inside the WEEVIL chamber calculated by DSMC.
Gas density from sublimed water ice sample inside the WEEVIL chamber calculated by DSMC.

The setup is in the design/production stage.

Special thanks to our engineering department, especially  Joël Fritschi  for his tremendous work on WEEVIL and Dr. Omar Mokhtari for performing the gas modeling.