Abstract
Screen channel liquid acquisition devices (LADs) are used in space as part of larger cryogenic propellant management devices (PMDs) to separate liquid and vapor phases in microgravity environments. A gallery type LAD utilizes surface tension forces in a porous screen to separate the vapor phase from the liquid phase during tank outflow. The phase separation can take place until the pressure difference across the screen overcomes a certain pressure, namely the bubble point pressure. Screen compliance is one of the influential factors to be considered while designing LADs. Screen compliance is a measure of how well the screen complies (i.e. deflects) when the liquid inside the LAD channel accelerates from rest to a steady state. In this study, the pressure difference across the screen and the effective screen deflection thickness are experimentally measured to calculate the linear screen compliance coefficient, \({K}_{SC}\). Measurements are carried out for 14 rectangular geometry screens with 2″ × 1″, 2″ × 2″, and 4″ × 1″ aspect ratios to study the dependency of aspect ratio on the screen compliance.
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Abbreviations
- \({A}_{CH}\) :
-
Cross sectional area of the channel
- \({A}_{SC}\) :
-
Open area of the screen
- \({a}_{SC}\) :
-
Open area of the screen
- \({D}_{P,293K}\) :
-
Effective pore diameter of the screen
- \({K}_{sc}\) :
-
Linear slope of the curve \(\Delta {P}_{SC}\)vs. thickness
- \(\Delta {P}_{BP}\) :
-
Bubble pressure of the screen
- \({s}_{SC}\) :
-
Wetted perimeter of the channel
- \({T}_{sc}\) :
-
Screen effective deflection thickness
- \({T}_{SC,0}\) :
-
Initial screen effective deflection thickness
- \(t\) :
-
Time
- u :
-
Velocity of the liquid inside the channel
- \({V}_{SC}\) :
-
Volume extracted from the liquid reservoir
- \({w}_{SC}\) :
-
Volume extracted from the liquid reservoir
- x :
-
Dimension along the length of the channel
- z :
-
Height relative to the acceleration vector
- \(\rho\) :
-
Density of the liquid
- \(\gamma\) :
-
Surface tension of the liquid
- \({\theta }_{c}\) :
-
Contact angle of the liquid with the screen
- σ :
-
Standard deviation
- \(\nu\) :
-
Dynamic viscosity
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) under the award number 80NSSC18P2582. This research was also partially supported by the Andrew H. Hines, Jr./Progress Energy Endowment Fund at the University of Florida.
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Vasireddy, S., Camarotti, C., Hartwig, J. et al. Liquid Acquisition Device Screen Compliance Experiments with Rectangular Geometry for Microgravity Applications. Microgravity Sci. Technol. 34, 2 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12217-021-09921-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12217-021-09921-4