Investigation of the Symmetric Wetting of Vane-Wall Gaps in Propellant Tanks

Symmetric wetting of a liquid in a vane-wall intersection with a gap is investigated. The geometry is common in surface tension propellant management devices (PMDs) in spacecraft liquid propellant tanks. A theoretical method is applied to determine a critical contact angle in the geometry for a rang...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:AIAA journal 2004-02, Vol.42 (2), p.305-314
Main Authors: Chen, Yongkang, Collicott, Steven H
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Applied sciences
Combustion of liquid fuels
Combustion. Flame
Energy
Energy. Thermal use of fuels
Exact sciences and technology
Fluid dynamics
Geometry
Theoretical studies. Data and constants. Metering
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Summary:Symmetric wetting of a liquid in a vane-wall intersection with a gap is investigated. The geometry is common in surface tension propellant management devices (PMDs) in spacecraft liquid propellant tanks. A theoretical method is applied to determine a critical contact angle in the geometry for a range of parameters. The critical contact angle marks a division between the existence and nonexistence of a single-valued finite height equilibrium capillary surface spanning the entire cross section. When the contact angle is below the critical value, the capillary surface wicks up the gap, which is necessary for proper function of the PMD. The problem and results can also be viewed as determination of a critical gap size for a given contact angle. In addition to analysis, Surface Evolver simulations and drop tower experiments provide results in agreement with the analytical results. Drop tower results also demonstrate that the evolution of the wicking rate mimics that for a solid corner.
ISSN:0001-1452
1533-385X
DOI:10.2514/1.915