Experimental database with real propellants to study multi-phase fluid hammer phenomena

J. Anthoine (1) , J.Y. Lestrade (1) , J. Steelant (2)

1 ONERA - The French Aerospace Lab [Châtillon]
2 ESTEC - European Space Research and Technology Centre

The objective of the present study is to generate a reliable experimental database on the fluid hammer phenomenon with real propellants (MMH and NTO) to validate the physical models implemented in the numerical codes. This database with real propellants extends the database obtained by the von Karman Institute on similitude fluids (water, ethanol and acetaldehyde). The test facility is composed with parts provided by VKI (propellant line, fast opening valve, measurement module and instrumentation). The combination of these elements with the Onera pressure vessel and vacuum system enables to build a facility close to the VKI one used for similitude fluids. For each real propellant, experiments were performed for a vacuum pressure in the propellant line below and above the saturation pressure of the fluid to highlight the influence of the physical phenomena encountered (vaporisation, cavitation ...) on the fluid hammer. With MMH, the higher is the vacuum pressure, the smaller are the fluid hammer frequency and amplitude. The same conclusions found by VKI for ethanol when compared to water are now found with MMH: the fluid hammer amplitude is smaller and the frequency is higher. Only one experiment was performed with NTO for a vacuum pipe pressure below the saturation pressure due to leaks of the valve seals. Compared to MMH and water experiments performed under the same operating conditions, the fluid hammer amplitude and frequency are smaller. Regarding the temperature, very small variations are recorded for water and MMH while the temperature increase for NTO is higher than 350°C.

Mots clés: FLUID HAMMER (OU WATER HAMMER); REAL PROPELLANT; MONOMETHYL HYDRAZINE (MMH); NITROGEN TETROXIDE (NTO); SPACECRAFT PROPULSION

Domaines: Mécanique des fluides [physics.class-ph]; Mécanique des fluides [physics.class-ph]

J. Anthoine, J.Y. Lestrade, J. Steelant. Experimental database with real propellants to study multi-phase fluid hammer phenomena. Space Propulsion 2014, May 2014, COLOGNE, Germany. ⟨hal-01069465⟩