• Progress in Superconductivity and Cryogenics
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.38-43
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• 2012

In the extreme conditions of launch vehicle in a space, such as cryogenic temperature and low-gravity environment, the mass gauging of remaining propellants becomes a difficult problem. Pressure-volume-temperature (PVT) method is one of the attractive mass gauging methods under low-gravity due to its simplicity and reliability. PVT gauging experiment with various mass flow rates of helium injection is carried out with the experimental apparatus creating cryogenic homogeneous condition as the condition of low-gravity. Experimental results are analyzed by a novel PVT gauging analysis method which considers all instantaneous changes of pressure and temperature in the ullage volume with small time intervals. It is observed that the gauging error from the novel PVT gauging analysis is -0.11% with 2 slpm mass flow rate of helium injection.

• Progress in Superconductivity and Cryogenics
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.64-69
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• 2014

Measuring an exact amount of remaining cryogenic liquid propellant under microgravity condition is one of the important issues of rocket vehicle. A Pressure-Volume-Temperature (PVT) gauging method is attractive due to its minimal additional hardware and simple gauging process. In this paper, PVT gauging method using liquid nitrogen is investigated under microgravity condition with parabolic flight. A 9.2 litre metal cryogenic liquid storage tank containing approximately 30% of liquid nitrogen is pressurized by ambient temperature helium gas. During microgravity condition, the inside of the liquid tank becomes near-isothermal condition within 1 K difference indicated by 6 silicon diode sensors vertically distributed in the middle of the liquid tank. Helium injection with higher mass flow rate after 10 seconds of the waiting time results in successful measurements of helium partial pressure in the tank. Average liquid volume measurement error is within 11% of the whole liquid tank volume and standard deviation of errors is 11.9. As a result, the applicability of PVT gauging method to liquid propellant stored in space is proven with good measurement accuracy.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.62-71
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• 2015

Geostationary satellites use the thruster in order to control the location change and mount the suitable amount of liquid propellant depending on the operating lifetime. Therefore the lifetime of the geostationary satellite depends on the residual propellant amount and the precise residual propellant gauging is very important for the mitigation of economic losses arised from premature removal of satellite from its orbit, satellites replacement planning, slot management and so on. The propellant gauging methods of geostationary satellite are mostly used PVT method, thermal mass method and bookkeeping method. In this paper, we analysis the modeling of COMS(Communication, Ocean & Meteorological Satellite) bipropellant system for bookkeeping method and COMS GTO(Geostationary Transfer Orbit) injection propellant estimation using Monte-Carlo method.