Development of 10 inch Diameter Titanium Rolling Metal Diaphragm Tank for Green Propellant

摘要

This paper will discuss the design and test results of a 10-inch diameter titanium propellant tank with a Rolling Metal Diaphragm (RMD) used as a propellant expulsion device, as well as the subsequent delivery of a 10 inch diameter titanium RMD propellant tank for a flight system. Moog Inc. provided internal funding in order to expand its heritage flight qualified aluminum RMD tank designs using materials compatible with green propellants, such as LMP-103S and AFM-31SE. Advantages of a metal diaphragm tank include a sealed, all welded design, no slosh or other transient dynamic response, predictable center of gravity, and near zero permeability. These tanks utilize a diaphragm with a simple initial shape, and conforming the outlet shell to match the final contour of the diaphragm, thereby providing high expulsion efficiency of ≥ 98 %.