Propellant Flow Characteristics in Tank and Related Impact Analysis During the Vertical Landing Stage

Abstract

Reusable technology is one of the key factors to realize the launch vehicle reusability. It is a hot spot in current research to achieve the sub-stage reusability by vertical landing. During the process of launch vehicle taking-off and vertical landing, the propulsion system is not only required to provide thrust in the ascent, but also to realize the smooth deceleration and control of vertical landing. It is required that the rocket engine shall be improved to possess multiple-start and in-depth thrust regulating capability and also have higher requirements to propellant management. During the vertical landing process, the propellant flow characteristics in tank are greatly affected by the acceleration of the vehicle. If there are some lateral disturbance, the propellant in the tank will move violently due to severe acceleration decrease and may affect the normal operation of the rocket engine. In this paper, the propellant flow behavior during the vertical landing process is investigated with Flow 3D numerical simulation, and the influence of the lateral and axial acceleration on the propellant flow behavior during the engine shutdown process is analyzed. The results show that the sloshing amplitude of the propellant is related to the amplitude of the lateral disturbance when the axial acceleration changes to a certain extent, and the sloshing amplitude of the propellant will be greatly enlarged when axial forces suddenly decrease. It is suggested that in the process of vertical taking-off and landing, the attitude of vehicle should be guaranteed as much as possible to avoid large lateral disturbance.

Keywords

vertical landing / propellant flow behavior / demonstration test

References

[1] 杨勇,王小军,唐一华. 重复使用运载器发展趋势及特点[J]. 导弹与航天运载技术,2002(5):15-19
YANG Y,WANG X J,TANG Y H. Development trends and characteristics of reusable launch vehicles[J]. Missiles and Space Vehicles,2002(5):15-19
[2] POWELL R W，LOCKWOOD M K，COOK S A. The road from the NASA access-to-space study to a reusable launch vehicle：IAF-98-V. 4.02[R]. USA：AIAA，1998.
[3] 宋征宇,王聪. 运载火箭返回着陆在线轨迹规划技术发展[J]. 宇航总体技术,2019,3(6):11-15
SONG Z Y,WANG C. Development of online trajectory planning technology for launch vehicle return and landing[J]. Astronautical Systems Engineering Technology,2019,3(6):11-15
[4] 郑雄,杨勇,姚世东,等. 法尔肯9可重复使用火箭发展综述[J]. 导弹与航天运载技术,2016(2):39-46
ZHENG X,YANG Y,YAO S D,et al. Survey and review on development of Falcon 9 reusable rocket[J]. Missiles and Space Vehicles,2016(2):39-46
[5] BEHRUZI P，MICHAELIS M. Behavior of the cryogenic propellant tanks during the first flight of the ariane 5 ESC-A upper stage. AIAA 2006-5052[C]//42nd AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference. Sacramento，California：AIAA，2006.
[6] KONOPKA M，ROSE F D，STRAUCH H. Active slosh control and damping-simulation and experiment[C]//7th European Conference for Aeronautics and Space Sciences（EUCASS）. [S. l. ]：EUCASS，2017.
[7] ROSE F D，NETZLAF P. Modelling of upper stage dynamics including fuel sloshing and utilization for future space vehicle[C]//6th European Conference for Aeronautics and Space Sciences（EUCASS）. [S. l. ]：EUCASS，2015.
[8] BRACKBILL J U. A continuum method for modeling surface tension[J]. Journal of Comput Physics,1992,100:335-354
[9] MASICA W J. Hydrostatic stability of the liquid-vapor interface in a low-acceleration field：N64-27124[R]. USA：NASA，1964.
[10] TOOLE L E. An experimental study of the behavior of a sloshing liquid subjected to a sudden reduction in acceleration：N68-35825[R]. [S. l. ]：NTRS，1968.
[11] 诸桂敏. 低温上面级滑行段的推进剂管理[J]. 导弹与航天运载技术,2007(1):27-31
ZHU G M. Propellant management of cryogenic upper stage during coast[J]. Missiles and Space Vehicles,2007(1):27-31
[12] 刘桢,诸桂敏,李红,等. 运载火箭上面级微重力环境下的推进剂管理[J]. 导弹与航天运载技术,2012(4):20-26
LIU Z,ZHU G M,LI H,et al. Propellant management of rocket upper stage in microgravity environment[J]. Missiles and Space Vehicles,2012(4):20-26
[13] OHASHI A，FURUICHI Y，HABA D. Experimental and numerical investigation on pressure change in cryogenic sloshing with a ring baffle[C]//AIAA Propulsion and Energy Forum , 53^rd AIAA/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference. Atlanta，GA：AIAA，2017.
[14] HIMENO T，WATANABE T. Sloshing prediction in the propellant tanks of VTVL rocket vehicle[C]//41^st AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference. Tucson，Arizona：AIAA, 2005.
[15] AOKI K，NAKAMURA T，IGARASHI I. Experimental investigation of baffle effectiveness on nonlinear propellant sloshing in RLV[C]//43^rd AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference. [S. l. ]：AIAA，2007.