Experimental Study of an In-Flight Air Separation Device

Bizzarri, Didier; Hendrick, Patrick; Heyen, Georges; Ngendakumana, Philippe

doi:10.2514/6.2005-3422

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 2 publications

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“…A subscale test setup has been designed and built to prove the concept based on those basic ideas [26]. First tests with the unit have shown separation by delivering oxygen concentrated liquid air.…”

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confidence: 99%

In-flight oxygen collection for a two-stage air-launch vehicle: integration of vehicle and separation cycle design

Verstraete¹,

Bizzarri²,

Hendrick³

2009

Progress in Propulsion Physics

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In- §ight oxygen collection is a very promising technique to reduce the launch costs and improve the payload capabilities of two-stage-to-orbit semireusable launchers. Using liquid hydrogen the incoming air is deeply cooled and enriched in oxygen during the cruise phase of the ¦rst stage. The liqui¦ed enriched air is stored in the second stage which is then launched into orbit. This paper gives the result of a conceptual design of a two-stage-to-orbit air launched space vehicle. The mass, aerodynamic, and propulsive characteristics of the ¦rst stage are determined and an assessment of the in §uence of the collection plant performance on the subsonic ¦rst stage is made. The results for a centrifugally enhanced destillation unit are given together with the plant cycle arrangement. Integration options for the plant into the ¦rst stage are proposed and a short description of the air separation test unit and its test bench is also given.

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mentioning

confidence: 99%

In-flight oxygen collection for a two-stage air-launch vehicle: integration of vehicle and separation cycle design

Verstraete¹,

Bizzarri²,

Hendrick³

2009

Progress in Propulsion Physics

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Study of a Two-Phase Flow Pump and Separator System

Gruselle

Steimes

Hendrick

2011

Journal of Engineering for Gas Turbines and Power

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The Aero-Thermo-Mechanics (ATM) Department of ULB (Université Libre de Bruxelles) is developing an original system to pump and separate a two-phase flow. Many applications need to extract a certain phase of a multiphase flow: oil extraction, flow in nuclear pumps, flow in aircraft lubrication systems, pulp and paper processing, etc. The main objective of this study is to obtain a lightweight, compact, and efficient system that can both extract the gas of a two-phase flow and increase the pressure of the liquid phase. Prototypes with different designs were first tested at ULB on a specific test bench using water and air. The current prototype is a kind of axial-centrifugal pump. The axial part is used to separate the two phases of the flow and to collect, in the centrifugal part, the liquid phase only. The test results of the water-air prototypes have allowed to identify the key design and working parameters for efficient separation and pumping. A theoretical model has also been developed to describe the behavior of these prototypes. After successful tests with water-air mixtures, the technology has been implemented for a hot oil-air mixture. The tests with oil-air mixtures are performed on the aeroengine lubrication system test bench that the ATM Department developed and continues developing for other projects. At the same time, the flow field in the pump and separator system is being studied with commercial computational fluid dynamics software packages. Several two-phase flow models are considered for this particular application.

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