Study of Rotating Menisci in a Generic Propellant-Management Device

摘要

In future cryogenic upper stages, the ability of multiple starts of the engine is required. Centrifugal forces caused by the spinning of the stage could drive the liquid propellant away from the outlet of a propellant-management device, resulting in malfunction of the system. A simplified model of the propellant-management device is studied, which includes two parallel disks segmented with radially mounted baffles and a central tube. The stability of the menisci between the disks under the influence of the central tube meniscus is examined with Surface Evolver simulations and drop-tower experiments.