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Evaluation of The Dr. William Thornton 'S Skylab BMMD: December
Evaluation of The Dr. William Thornton 'S Skylab BMMD: December
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12217-019-09762-2
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Received: 29 July 2019 / Accepted: 22 October 2019 / Published online: 18 December 2019
# Springer Nature B.V. 2019
Abstract
The characteristics of a pre-flight model of the Skylab BMMD (Body Mass Measurement Device), which was made around 1970
by the team led by Dr. William Thornton, are accurately evaluated using an optical interferometer on ground. The calibration of
the BMMD is conducted using metal block weights in the range of the total mass of 4.134 kg to 100.131 kg, in which the RMS
value of the differences between the regression line and the calibrated values are 0.018 kg. Using this calibration result, the
BMMD estimates the masse values of human subjects in the range of 33.16 kg to 95.79 kg with the standard uncertainty of
0.21 kg, which corresponds to 0.2% of the maximum value of the mass of the human subjects. It is found that the oscillation of
BMMD seat is disturbed even with quiet breathing of the subject human. This is considered to be caused by the relative change of
the center of mass of the human body due to the movement of internal organs.
Keywords International Space Station (ISS) . Microgravity . Mass . Body mass . Astronaut health . Medical operations
Stopper
B) Use of centrifugal force Mechanism
(at release
position)
Trigger signal
DAC
GP-IB
Computer
Counter Counter
Advantest R5363 Advantest R5363
Stopper
Mechanism
(at holding fbeat frest
position)
CC
PD
Reference
beam GTP
CC
Seat part Zeeman type
for holding human subject He-Ne laser
Signal
beam PBS
Fig. 2 Experimental setup (Code: CC = cube corner prism, PBS = polarizing beam splitter, GTP = Glan-Thompson prism, PD = photo diode, DAC =
digital-to-analog converter)
4.134 kg to 100.131 kg are prepared as the reference masses human subjects are pre-calibrated with an uncertainty of 10 g
for the calibration of the BMMD. The 20 combinations of the using an electronic balance.
reference weights are pre-calibrated with an uncertainty of 2 g The following is the measurement procedure performed at
using an electronic balance. the time of the Skylab project.
For the second part of measurements, 9 human subjects, i.e.
1 male child and 8 male adults, in the range of body mass of [1] The seat is held at the initial position using the stopper
33.16 kg to 95.79 kg participated. The mass values of the 9 latch.
[2] The subject astronaut under test sits on the seat and 61.41 kg, in which the subject, at the beginning, halts breath-
makes his/her body as rigid as possible. ing for approximately 30 s, then starts a slow and soft breath-
[3] The stopper is released by the experimenter. The seat ing. It is observed that the vibration of BMMD is disturbed by
begins to oscillate at its characteristic frequency. breathing.
[4] The average period of the oscillation is measured using a Figure 5 shows the relationship between period and mass
motion sensor, i.e. light switch. of the reference weights. The results of 20 swing measure-
[5] The mass of the subject is estimated by applying the ments using the reference weights of the mass range of
calibration result obtained beforehand to the measured 4.134 kg to 100.131 kg and one without using any weight
period. are shown.
[6] How to breathe is not specified throughout the The regression line,
measurement.
M ¼ 0:418T 5 −3:8458 T 4 þ 11:344 T 3 þ 5:7614 T 2
In this experiment, the movement of the seat is accurately þ 11:065 T−13:131 ð1Þ
measured using the optical interferometer instead of the mo-
tion sensor. The period of the oscillation is calculated as the
average value of the first 10 periods, which is defined as the is also shown in Fig. 5.
difference between the first zero-crossing time from negative The RMS value of the differences between the regression
to positive and the eleventh one. line and the calibrated values are 0.018 kg.
Figure 6 shows the relationship between period and mass
of the human subjects. The results of 9 swing measurements
with the human subjects of the mass range of 33.16 kg to
Results 95.79 kg are shown. The calibration result, i.e. the regression
line (1) obtained from the results of the reference weights, is
Figure 4 shows the change in position of the measurement also shown. The RMS value of the differences between the
point, i.e. the optical center of the cube corner prism (CC) calibration result and the calibrated values of the human sub-
attached to the backside of the seat of the BMMD. Figure 4 jects are 0.21 kg. Therefore, the standard uncertainty in mea-
(a) shows the result with the metal weight of 63.498 kg. suring the mass of human subjects in the rage of 33.16 kg to
Figure 4 (b) shows the result with the human subject of 95.79 kg is estimated to be 0.21 kg.
0.006
0.004
0.002
0.000
-0.002
-0.004
-0.006
-0.008
-0.010
0.0 5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0 25.0 30.0 35.0 40.0 45.0
No breathing Breathing
0.010
0.008
x (m)
0.006
0.004
0.002
0.000
-0.002
-0.004
-0.006
-0.008
-0.010
0.0 5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0 25.0 30.0 35.0 40.0 45.0
t (s)
(b) Human subject (M=61.41) (“Breathing” is stopped for the first 25 seconds)
Microgravity Sci. Technol. (2020) 32:275–280 279
120.0
M (kg)
As for the two BMMDs currently used on the ISS, i.e. the
100.0
SLAMMD and the Russian BMMD, the measurement uncer-
tainty is unknown, since their calibration data has not been
80.0 published. However, the average measurement difference be-
tween the two is reported to be 1.2 kg (Campbell and Charles
60.0 2019), which is approximately 6 times larger than the standard
uncertainty of 0.21 kg with the Skylab BMMD. It is surprising
40.0 that the Skylab BMMD made around 1970 seems to be more
accurate than the devices currently in use on the ISS.
20.0 The major advantage of the Skylab BMMD is its smooth mo-
tion, which is realized by its simple mechanical structure without
0.0 any sliding contact. On the other hand, the SLAMMD, which is
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5
currently used on the ISS, has a complicated and weak mechanical
structure with many sliding contacts (Smith and Kaufman 1998).
t (s) The Russian BMMD uses a liner ball bearing to realize a liner
Fig. 5 Relationship between mass and period (reference weights) motion of the subject astronauts, however, a relatively large change
in posture of the subject during the measurement are still observed
Discussions even from the video observation (Campbell and Charles 2019). In
addition, relatively large sound noise due to sliding motion is
In the ground experiment, with the Skylab BMMD, the body mass produced. These facts, such as the posture change of the subject
values of the human subjects are measured with the standard un- and the friction inside the device, might result in measurement
certainty of 0.21 kg by using the result of calibration with the errors. The Russian BMMD was replaced in 2018, but its design
reference metal weights. This uncertainty has been accepted for principle stayed the same.
astronaut health management for the ISS medical operations. It is found that the oscillation of BMMD seat is disturbed by
In the microgravity environment, it is expected that the breathing, even by a quiet one. This is considered to be caused by
calibration curve shown in Fig. 5 will slightly change. the inertial force generated by the relative movement of the center
However, except the effect by the deformation due to gravity of mass of the human body due to the movement of respiratory
of the mechanical structure of the Skylab BMMD, including organs. In another experiment, it is also observed that the oscilla-
the frames, the parallel springs and the seat, and the effect of tion of the seat is amplified by respiration and the seat continuously
pneumatic resistance, the Skylab BMMD should work on the collides on both sides of the frame. This is considered to be caused
ISS with the similar accuracy as on ground. Since it moves/ by the subject’s unconsciously synchronizing the breathing cycle
oscillates in the horizontal plane, the effect by the deformation to the BMMD oscillation cycle. The force caused by the airflow
due to gravity will be small. It can be ignored if the calibration generated by breathing might also affect the oscillation.
using the standard weights is conducted on the ISS. The effect Since the Skylab BMMD has a strong mechanical structure, it
by pneumatic resistance can be also ignored if the calibration can work accurately even on ground with gravitational accelera-
is conducted under the same atmospheric pressure on the ISS. tion field. That means it can also work accurately on Moon and on
Mars. If the usage environment is limited to a weightless environ-
ment, a lighter and smaller configuration may be considered.
120.0 In the future, we would construct a numerical model of the
M (kg)
0.0
We would like to improve the understanding on the Skylab
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 BMMD and to develop the improved device and its measure-
t (s) ment procedure for realizing the highest measurement
Fig. 6 Relationship between mass and period (human subjects) accuracy.
280 Microgravity Sci. Technol. (2020) 32:275–280
Conclusion Ivanova, K., Eiermann, P., Tsiockas, W., et al.: Differential regulation of
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