Skip to main content
Log in

A Sounding Rocket Experiment to Control Boiling by Means of Acoustic Waves

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Microgravity Science and Technology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

One of the most critical issues when considering long-term space exploration missions is the management and storage of cryogenic propellants. The exposure of storage tanks to radiation and extreme temperatures implies the need of efficient technologies to counteract their effects on the fuel. A potentially dangerous effect for spacecraft operations is the generation of vapor bubbles in cryogenic propellants. We present an experimental setup and procedure to mature a technology based on acoustic waves to control boiling in microgravity.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Di Marco, P.: Review of reduced gravity boiling heat transfer: European research. J. Jpn. Soc. Microgravity Appl. 20, 252 (2003)

    Google Scholar 

  • Douglas, Z.W., Boziuk, T.R., Smith, M.K., Glezer, A.: Acoustically enhanced boiling heat transfer. Phys. Fluids 24, 052105 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • HFE7100 datasheet: Available at: http://multimedia.3m.com/mws/media/199818O/3mtm-novectm-7100-engineered-fluid.pdf (2018)

  • Isakoff, S.E.: Effect of an ultrasonic field on boiling heat transfer - Exploratory investigation, Heat Transfer and Fluid Mechanics Institute, Stanford University Press (1956)

  • Kannengieser, O., Colin, C., Bergez, W.: Pool boiling with non-condensable gas in microgravity: results of a sounding rocket experiment. Microgravity Sci. Technol. 22, 447 (2010)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krishnan, S., Das, S.K., Chatterjee, D.: Physics of the interaction of ultrasonic excitation with nucleate boiling. J. Heat Transf. 136, 031501 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leighton, T.G., Walton, A.J., Pickworth, M.J.W.: Primary Bjerknes forces. Eur. J. Phys. 11, 47 (1990)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • López, G., González-Cinca, R.: (in preparation)

  • Muratov, C.B., Osipov, V.V., Smelyanskiy, V.N.: Issues of long-term cryogenic propellant storage in microgravity NASA/TM-2011-215988 (2011)

  • Siegel, R., Keshock, E.G.: Effects of reduced gravity on nucleate boiling bubble dynamics in saturated water. AIChE J 10, 509 (1964)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sitter, J.S., Snyder, T.J., Chung, J.N., Marston, P.L.: Terrestrial and microgravity pool boiling heat transfer from a wire in an acoustic field. Int. J. Heat Mass Transf. 41, 2143 (1998)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Straub, J., Zell, M., Vogel, B.: What we learn from boiling under microgravity. Microgravity Sci. Technol. 6, 239 (1993)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, Secretaría de Estado de Investigación, Desarrollo e Innovación (project number AYA2012-34131), and by the Agencia Estatal de Investigación/FEDER, EU (project number ESP2016-79196-P). Authors acknowledge ESA Education Office for providing access to the REXUS/BEXUS programme, and ESA, ZARM, and SNSB for technical assistance. We thank M. Khasin and C. Muratov for fruitful discussions.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to R. González-Cinca.

Additional information

This article belongs to the Topical Collection: Interdisciplinary science challenges for gravity dependent phenomena in physical and biological systems

Guest Editors: Jens Hauslage, Ruth Hemmersbach, Valentina Shevtsova

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Quintana-Buil, G., Garcia-Sabaté, A., Batlle, S. et al. A Sounding Rocket Experiment to Control Boiling by Means of Acoustic Waves. Microgravity Sci. Technol. 30, 731–736 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12217-018-9656-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12217-018-9656-z

Keywords

Navigation