Experiment Investigation on Fluid Transportation Performance of Propellant Acquisition Vanes in Microgravity Environment

Abstract

The propellant acquisition vane (PAV) is a key part of a vane type surface tension propellant management device (PMD), which can manage the propellant effectively. In the present paper, the fluid transportation behaviors for five PAVs with different sections were investigated by using microgravity drop tower test. Further, numerical simulation for the propellant flow in a PMD under microgravity condition was also carried out based on VOF model, and showed the similar flow pattern for PAVs to the experiment. It is noted that the section geometry of PAVs is one of the main factors affecting the fluid transportation behavior of PMD. PAVs with bottom length ratio of 5/6 and 1/2 have larger propellant transportation velocity. Based on the experiments, there were two stages during the process of propellant transportation under microgravity environment: liquid relocation and steady transportation stage. It is also recognized that there is a linear correlation between liquid transportation velocity and relative time's square root. Those results can not only provide a guideline for optimization of new vane type PMDs, but also are helpful for fluid control applications in space environment.