Zero-G report, settling outflow test
Sloshing effects of liquid-hydrogen fuel on tank outflow during Centaur engine chill down
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Sloshing effects of liquid-hydrogen fuel on tank outflow during Centaur engine chill down
Violent bubble behavior in liquids contained in vertically vibrated tanks caused by water hammer type of resonance
Violent bubble behavior in liquids contained in vertically vibrated tanks caused by water hammer type of resonance
Transfer function approximations for large highly coupled flexible body launch vehicles with liquid fuel slosh
Understanding, predicting, and controlling fluid slosh dynamics is critical to safety and improving performance of space missions when a significant percentage of the spacecraft's mass is a liquid. Computational fluid dynamics simulations can be used to predict the dynamics of slosh, but these programs require extensive validation. Many experimental and numerical studies of water slosh have been conducted. However, slosh data for cryogenic liquids is lacking. Water and cryogenic liquid nitrogen are used in various ground-based tests with a spherical tank to characterize damping, slosh mode frequencies, and slosh forces. A single ring baffle is installed in the tank for some of the tests. Analytical models for slosh modes, slosh forces, and baffle damping are constructed based on prior work. Select experiments are simulated using a commercial CFD software, and the numerical results are compared to the analytical and experimental results for the purposes of validation and methodology-improvement.
Sloshing dynamics within a partially filled rotating Dewar of superfluid He II are investigated in response to a lateral impulse. The study investigates several factors, including how the rotating bubble of superfluid He II reacts to the impulse in microgravity, how the amplitudes of slosh reaction forces act on the Dewar with various rotating speeds, how the frequencies of the sloshing modes excited differ in terms of differences in rotating speeds, and how the sloshing dynamics differ with and without a baffle. The numerical computation of sloshing dynamics is based on the noninertial frame spacecraft-bound coordinates. Results of the simulations are illustrated.
This report documents the simulation of the Lockheed Martin designed Gravity Probe B (GPB) spacecraft developed tool by bd Systems Inc using the TREETOPS simulation. This study quantifies the effects of flexibility and liquid helium slosh on GPB spacecraft control performance. The TREETOPS simulation tool permits the simulation of flexible structures given that a flexible body model of the structure is available. For purposes of this study, a flexible model of the GPB spacecraft was obtained from Lockheed Martin. To model the liquid helium slosh effects, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) results' were obtained, and used to develop a dynamic model of the slosh effects. The flexible body and slosh effects were incorporated separately into the TREETOPS simulation, which places the vehicle in a 650 km circular polar orbit and subjects the spacecraft to realistic environmental disturbances and sensor error quantities. In all of the analysis conducted in this study the spacecraft is pointed at an inertially fixed guide star (GS) and is rotating at a constant rate about this line of sight.
The paper discusses the dynamical behavior of vapor ingestion, liquid residual at the incipience of suction dip, slosh wave excitation under normal and reduced gravity and different flow rates during liquid hydrogen draining. Liquid residuals at the incipience of suction dip increase as the values of gravity decrease. Also liquid residuals increase with the draining flow rates. Lower ratio of Bond number and Weber number are unable to excite slosh waves. Lower flow rates and higher gravity excites waves with lower frequencies and higher wave amplitude slosh waves.
The dynamical behavior of fluids affected by the asymmetric gravity jitter oscillations, in particular the effect of surface tension on partially-filled rotating fluids (cryogenic liquid helium and helium vapor) in a sub-scale Gravity Probe-B Spacecraft propellant dewar tank imposed by time-dependent various directions of background gravity environment have been investigated. Results show that lower frequency gravity jitter imposed on the time-dependent variations of the direction of background gravity induced a greater amplitude of oscillations and a stronger degree of asymmetry in liquid-vapor interface geometry than that made by the higher frequency gravity jitter. Furthermore, the greater the components of background gravity in radial and circumferential directions will provide a greater contribution in driving more to the increasing amplitude and degrees of symmetry of liquid-vapor interface profiles which, in turn, modify the disturbance of moment of inertia and angular momentum of spacecraft.
Comparison of propellant sloshing and pendulum analogy parameters from Centaur liquid-oxygen tanks
Nondimensional theoretical and experimental pressures and forces acting on flat ring baffle under sloshing conditions
Translational excitation mechanical model applied to space vehicle longitudinal excitation, examining sloshing phenomena
Effective inertia moment and velocity ratio for liquid-filled cylindrical tanks oscillating about longitudinal axis
Damping coefficients for rigid and flexible ring baffles for slosh suppression
The dynamical behavior of fluids, in particular the effect of surface tension on partially-filled rotating fluids (cryogenic liquid helium and helium vapor) in a full scale Gravity Probe-B Spacecraft propellant dewar tank imposed by various frequencies of gravity jitters have been investigated. Fluid stress distribution, caused by the excitation of slosh waves and their associated large amplitude disturbances on the liquid-vapor interface, exerted on the outer and inner walls of rotating dewar container also have been investigated. Results show that fluid stress distribution exerted on the outer and inner walls of rotating dewar are closely related to the characteristics of slosh waves excited on the liquid-vapor interface in the rotating dewar tank.
The objective of the cryogenic fluid management of the spacecraft propulsion system is to develop the technology necessary for acquistion or positioning of liquid and vapor within a tank in reduced gravity to enable liquid outflow or vapor venting. In this study slosh wave excitation induced by the resettling flow field activated by 1.0 Hz medium frequency impulsive reverse gravity acceleration during the course of liquid fluid reorientation with the initiation of geyser for liquid filled levels of 30, 50, and 80 percent have been studied. Characteristics of slosh waves with various frequencies excited are discussed.
Mechanical models are commonly used in Guidance, Navigation and Controls (GN&C) system-level models to represent propellant slosh forces on launch vehicles and spacecraft. The slosh model parameters are typically predicted using semi-empirical analytical methods that are based on experimental data for high liquid-to-gas density ratios (such as water and air at standard sea level conditions). Model parameter calculations typically neglect any contribution to slosh dynamics from the gas phase. However, some cryogenic propellant systems operate in conditions where the density ratio can be orders of magnitude smaller. Analytical and computational modeling was used in this effort to investigate the effects of liquid-to-gas density ratio on slosh dynamics. No experimental data nor previous studies are available at this time that quantify the effect of liquid-to-gas density ratio on slosh dynamics. However, in a recent CFD study, results showed that density ratio can have a significant effect on slosh model parameters. In this study, a dual pendulum slosh model was created that distinctly represents both liquid and gas phase dynamics. Solution of the model, which invokes the Euler-Lagrange equations of motion, demonstrates that slosh frequency is a combination of liquid slosh frequency and gas phase slosh frequency. Additionally, it shows that slosh mass is reduced due to the opposing motion of the gas phase with respect to that of the liquid phase. The slosh model parameter trends were verified using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis results for various liquid-to-gas density ratios, tanks, and fill levels.
The dynamics of liquid propellant in a low Bond number environment which are critical to the design of spacecraft systems with respect to orbital propellant transfer and attitude control system were investigated. Digital computer programs were developed for the determination of liquid free surface equilibrium shape, lateral slosh natural vibration mode shapes, and frequencies for a liquid in a container of arbitrary axisymmetric shape with surface tension forces the same order of magnitude as acceleration forces. A finite volume element representation of the liquid was used for the vibration analysis. The liquid free surface equilibrium shapes were computed for several tanks at various contact angles and ullage volumes. A configuration was selected for vibration analysis and lateral slosh mode shapes and natural frequencies were obtained. Results are documented.