Conveners
C1Po1B - Aerospace Applications
- Jacob Leachman (Washington State University)
- Adam Swanger (NASA Kennedy Space Center)
Robotic Refueling Mission 3 (RRM3) is an external payload on the International Space Station (ISS) to demonstrate the techniques for storing and transferring a cryogenic fuel, specifically methane, on orbit. The RRM3 Source Dewar was filled with ~19 kg (~42 liters) of liquid methane on October 28, 2018 and has been maintained with zero boil-off using a mechanical cryocooler since that time. ...
Growing interest in liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a rocket fuel necessitates a greater technical understanding of the compositional changes due to preferential boil-off (or weathering) that occurs during long duration storage. The purity of methane in LNG can range from 90 to 98%, and is subject to preferential boil-off due to its low boiling point compared to other constituents despite the...
Acceleration variation in low-gravity environment could significantly affect propellant slosh as well as thermodynamic behaviors inside cryogenic tank of vehicle upper stage. To realize reliable space management of cryogenic propellant, liquid-gas interface movement and deformation as well as associated pressure evolution during the slosh process should be understood previously. In the present...
The continuously rotational mechanism is one of key devices to holds a sapphire half wave plate (HWP) in a polarization modulator of a LiteBIRD satellite. Due to the system requirement, the HWP has to be kept at the cryogenic temperature while it is spinning. Thus, we employ a superconducting magnetic bearing (SMB) and AC synchronous motor, contactless rotational mechanism, to achieve the...
Rapid change in fluid flow conditions, whether purposeful or accidental, may result in the generation of a pressure spike in the fluid flow system followed by oscillations of pressure which is known as the fluid transient/fluid hammer. The maximum amplitude of these oscillations may go beyond the safe operating limits of the system producing detrimental effects on pipelines, valves, pumps and...
Simulations on self-pressurization and thermal stratification in cryogenic propellant storage tanks have been widely conducted in the literature. However, for the applications on orbit, the heat flux entering the tank could be non-uniform as the solar radiation angle varies, which may result in deviation of the behavior of pressurization and thermal stratification from regular conditions. That...
Ranque Hilsch vortex tube is commonly used with compressed air at atmospheric temperature for refrigeration purpose in various industrial applications. Literature shows that vortex tube can also be used as a potential device to separate compressed partially condensed air at cryogenic temperature into its main constituents – oxygen and nitrogen. When compressed partially condensed air is used...
Aerojet Rocketdyne’s 2033 Fast Conjunction Vehicle Concept to get to Mars is split into five segments: Deep Space Habitat, Inline Stages 1-3 and Core Stage. The three Inline Stages are propellant tanks carrying 19,205kg of liquid hydrogen (LH2). The Core Stage contains a smaller propellant tank of 14,084kg of LH2, a radiation attenuator and three nuclear thermal rocket engines. Each...
