CFD Investigation on Movement Features of Hydrogen Bubble under Microgravity Environment

Lei Wang (), Peijie Sun, Li Yan, Shi Shangguan, Miao Qu and Yanzhong Li
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Lei Wang: Institute of Refrigeration & Cryogenic Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, China
Peijie Sun: Shanghai Institute of Aerospace System Engineering, Shanghai 201109, China
Li Yan: Shanghai Institute of Aerospace System Engineering, Shanghai 201109, China
Shi Shangguan: Institute of Refrigeration & Cryogenic Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, China
Miao Qu: Institute of Refrigeration & Cryogenic Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, China
Yanzhong Li: Institute of Refrigeration & Cryogenic Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, China

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 20, 1-18

Abstract: A designed cryogenic upper stage adopted liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen (LH 2 /LO 2 ) as an aerospace propellant. During a zero-gravity coast period in space, the wall heat leakage into the delivery tube could induce liquid propellant evaporation and two-phase flow phenomenon, so that a bubble discharge operation must be employed prior to engine restart. In this study, a CFD approach was utilized to numerically study the bubble discharge behaviors inside the LH 2 delivery tube of the upper stage. The bubble motion properties under two different schemes, including positive acceleration effect and circulation flow operation, were analyzed and discussed. The results showed that the boiled hydrogen bubbles could increase to the size of the tube inner diameter and distribute randomly within the entire tube volume, and that, in order for the bubble to spill upward under the acceleration effect, a higher acceleration level than the needed value of acquiring liquid–vapor separation inside the propellant tank should be provided. When creating an acceleration level of 10 −3 g 0 , most of the bubbles could spill upward within 700 s. Significantly, the bubbles could not be completely expelled in the created acceleration condition since a number of small bubbles always stagnate in the bulk liquid region. In the circulation flow operation, the gas volume reduction was mainly attributed to two mechanisms: the vapor condensation effect; and bubble discharge effect. For the case with a circulation flow rate of 0.2 kg/s, a complete bubble discharge purpose was reached within 820 s, while a large bubble stagnation in the spherical distributor occupied a remarkable proportion of the total time. In addition, both the liquid flow rate and liquid subcooling exert important effects on bubble performance. When applying a high circulation flow, the gas volume reduction is mainly due to the inertial effect of liquid flow, but the bubble stagnation in the spherical distributor still affects the total discharge time. The liquid subcooling influence on the gas volume reduction is more significant in smaller circulation flow cases. Generally, the present study provides valuable conclusions on bubble motions inside a LH 2 delivery tube in microgravity, and the results could be beneficial to the sequence design of engine restart for the cryogenic upper stage.

Keywords: liquid hydrogen; cryogenic upper stage; reorientation; two-phase flow; microgravity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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