An Experimental Study on Water-Hammer Effect for Spacecraft Propulsion System

인공위성 추진계통 관로내의 수격효과에 관한 실험적 연구

This paper presents the water-hammer effect due to the rapid opening and closing of isolation valve and thruster valve in the spacecraft propulsion system. The single propellant feed system was modeled to investigate the maximum peak pressure due to the water-hammer effect. The test parameters are tank supply pressure, shape and throat length of orifice and line length. Kerosene was used as the inert simulant propellant liquid instead of hydrazine. As downstream line length after isolation valve increased from 1.5 to 2.5m, the maximum line-filling water-hammer peak pressure decreased, but the average time interval between peak pressures increased. The maximum line-filling water-hammer peak pressure with orifice was lower than without orifice, and the maximum line-filling water-hammer peak pressure with orifice at the back of isolation valve was lower than with orifice in front of isolation valve. Without orifice, the maximum water-hammer peak pressure due to the rapid opening and closing of the thruster valve was about 126% of tank supply pressure. With orifice, it decreased. As orifice throat length increased, it decreased. The maximum water-hammer peak pressure due to the rapid closing of the thruster valve with converging-diverging orifice was lower than normal orifice. It was found that the orifice as a means of pressure drop was very effective to reduce the water hammer peak pressure at the thruster valve. The results of this study can be used for the design of spacecraft liquid propulsion feed system.