Study on liquid reorientation in tank models aboard the Chinese Space Station

Abstract

Propellant tanks provide non-entrained propellant for thrusters of satellites, which plays an important role in space mission. And the fluid transfer efficiency of tanks is the key to supply non-entrained propellant. An experiment cabin containing two different scaled tank models are designed and experiments of liquid reorientation under microgravity are carried out in the Chinese Space Station. Experiment results present the high liquid transportation efficiency of the two kinds of propellant management devices. Finite element models of the two tank models are established and verified by simulation matching with experiments. Furthermore, methylhydrazine is adopted to carry out more simulation analysis by considering different liquid contact angles and surface tension, and numerical results show smaller liquid contact angle and bigger surface tension can increase liquid flow speed. This research can provide theory and data support for the design of plate type tanks.