Abstract
The multi-phase solver interFoam within the open-source CFD software OpenFOAM is newly applied to rare experiments conducted beginning over 10 years ago aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The fluid physics of interest concern large length scale passive capillary flows in a microgravity environment driven largely by surface tension, wetting conditions, and container or conduit geometry. Such flows are critical to orbiting and coast spacecraft liquid fuels, propellants, cryogens, thermal fluids, and aqueous streams for water management, recycling, and life support. The value of the simulations is assessed via quantitative comparisons to the ISS Capillary Flow Experiments (CFE) for a series of centimetric handheld test cells. Three representative flows are simulated as functions of geometric complexity: 1) bubble coalescence, 2) ullage migration, and 3) draining flow. The experimental data is newly digitized for the bench-marking effort. The favorable agreement between the simulations and experiments adds confidence for advanced applications of the native interFoam multi-phase solver of the OpenFOAM suite, where experimental data is scarce.
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Data Availability
The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported in large part through NASA Grant 80NSSC19K0406. M.W. is supported in part though NASA Cooperative Agreement 80NSSC18K0436. The authors thank the ISS astronaut crews: NASA astronaut Karen Nyberg and JAXA astronaut Koichi Wakata. We dedicate this work to the lasting memory of Paul Steen (1952 - 2020).
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This work was initiated by J.M. and P.S. All experimental and computational data reduction and analysis was completed by J.M. The writing and editing of the manuscript was split between J.M. and M.W. following the passing of P.S.
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McCraney, J., Weislogel, M. & Steen, P. Capillary Flow Experiments Conducted Aboard the International Space Station: Experiments and Simulations. Microgravity Sci. Technol. 34, 63 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12217-022-09988-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12217-022-09988-7