THE SPONGE REXUS PROJECT: OVERVIEW OF A SOUNDING ROCKET EXPERIMENT FOR PMDs

摘要

This paper describes the SPONGE experiment (Sounding rocket Propellant OrieNtation microGravity Experiment) developed at CISAS in collaboration with Thales Alenia Space Italy. The aim is to validate CFD codes created to study and design Propellant Management Devices in low-gravity. SpongeCompressibleFoam is a code based on the OpenFOAM Platform, written at CISAS to simulate propellant management devices. These are passive static metal structures used in rocket tanks to control propellant behaviour; they work using surface tension to ensure gas free liquid delivery to the tank outlet. SPONGE flew on board the REXUS9 ESA/SSC/DLR sounding rocket in February 2011 and it is designed to verify code predictions in low-gravity. It is based on two counter rotating plates: (ⅰ) the experimental plate on which the control equipment and a polycarbonate tank containing the sponge test-sample are placed, (ⅱ) the balancing plate, rotating in the opposite direction with respect to the experimental plate and assuring a zero momentum transfer to the rocket. The system rotates at four different angular velocities, allowing the study of the sponge behaviour and retention capability under different centrifugal forces. The design and results are presented.