Analyses of Cryogenic Propellant Tank Pressurization based upon Experiments and Numerical Simulations
The active-pressurization of cryogenic propellant tanks for the launcher application was analyzed in this study. Therefore, ground experiments, numerical simulations and analytical studies were performed with the following important results: In order to minimize the required pressurant gas mass, a higher pressurant gas temperature is advantageous or the application of helium as pressurant gas. Numerical simulations of the pressurant gas mass using Flow-3D show good agreement to the experimental results. The dominating heat transfer during pressurization appears from the injected pressurant gas to the axial tank walls and the predominant way of phase change during the active-pressurization phase depends on the type of the pressurant gas. After the end of the pressurization phase, a significant pressure drop occurs. A theoretical model is presented for the analytical determination of this pressure drop.
Mass transfer enhancement by capillary waves at a liquid–vapour interface
We present experimental results showing that large amplitude capillary waves at a liquid–vapour interface substantially enhance the interfacial heat and mass transfer. The experiments have been conducted in a circular cylinder that is partially filled with a wetting liquid of low boiling point temperature and pressurized by its vapour. The interfacial capillary waves are sub-harmonically excited by oscillating the circular cylinder at 50 Hz with forcing amplitude A in the direction normal to the liquid surface. The upper part of the test cell containing the vapour is heated to a temperature slightly below the boiling point temperature at the operating pressure. When the interface is at rest, the pressure decrease due to condensation is small. However, in the presence of interfacial capillary waves the rate of pressure decrease is substantial. The results show that the vapour condensation rate with respect to the diffusive vapour flux at an undisturbed interface, which is a Nusselt number, increases with the square of the wave amplitude that is proportional to the forcing amplitude. A model is developed that expresses the pressure variation in terms of Jacob number, the temperature gradient in the liquid at the interface and the capillary wave motion. This model allows extrapolation of the results to other fluids and configurations.
Effects of reservoir volume on performance of pulse tube cooler.
A pulse tube cooler has the advantages of long-life and low-vibration over conventional cryocoolers such as G-M and Stirling coolers because of the absence of moving parts at low temperature. On the other hand, the combination of a reservoir and orifice is indispensable to optimize the performance of pulse tube coolers. In order to make the pulse tube cooler compact for practical applications, the volume of reservoir should be minimized. This paper analyzes the effects of the reservoir volume on the thermodynamic performance of various components in a simple orifice and a double-inlet pulse tube cooler by combining a linearized model with a thermodynamic analysis. Expressions of entropy production for those components are presented. The results show that the reservoir volume has a significant influence on the entropy production in the various components when the reservoir to pulse tube volume ratio is smaller than about 5. The ratio is important to determine the minimum reservoir volume for a pulse tube cooler. Optimum settings for a double-inlet pulse tube cooler are also discussed.