Issues of Long-Term Cryogenic Propellant Storage in Microgravity

Modern multi-layer insulation (MLI) allows to sharply reduce the heat leak into cryogenic propellant storage tanks through the tank surface and, as a consequence, significantly extend the storage duration. In this situation the MLI penetrations, such as support struts, feed lines, etc., become one of the most significant challenges of the tanks heat management. This problem is especially acute for liquid hydrogen (LH2) storage, since currently no efficient cryocoolers exist that operate at very low LH2 temperatures (20K). Even small heat leaks under microgravity conditions and over the period of many months give rise to a complex slowly-developing, large-scale spatiotemporal physical phenomena in a multi-phase liquid-vapor mixture. These phenomena are not well-understood nor can be easily controlled. They can be of a potentially hazardous nature for long-term on-orbital cryogenic torage, propellant loading, tank chilldown, engine restart, and other in-space cryogenic fluid management operations. To support the engineering design solutions that would mitigate these effects a detailed physics-based analysis of heat transfer, vapor bubble formation, growth, motion, coalescence and collapse is required in the presence of stirring jets of different configurations and passive cooling devices such as MLI, thermodynamic vent system, and vapor-cooled shield. To develop physics-based models and correlations reliable for microgravity conditions and long-time scales there is a need for new fundamental data to be collected from on-orbit cryogenic storage experiments. Our report discusses some of these physical phenomena and the design requirements and future studies necessary for their mitigation. Special attention is payed to the phenomena occurring near MLI penetrations

Conference Proceedings: 1st International Conference on Nanofluids (ICNf2019), 2nd European Symposium on Nanofluids (ESNf2019)

Conference proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Nanofluids (ICNf2019) and 2nd European Symposium on Nanofluids (ESNf2019), 26-28 June 2019 in Castelló (Spain), organized by Nanouptake Action (CA15119) and Universitat Jaume

Fifth International Microgravity Combustion Workshop

This conference proceedings document is a compilation of 120 papers presented orally or as poster displays to the Fifth International Microgravity Combustion Workshop held in Cleveland, Ohio on May 18-20, 1999. The purpose of the workshop is to present and exchange research results from theoretical and experimental work in combustion science using the reduced-gravity environment as a research tool. The results are contributed by researchers funded by NASA throughout the United States at universities, industry and government research agencies, and by researchers from at least eight international partner countries that are also participating in the microgravity combustion science research discipline. These research results are intended for use by public and private sector organizations for academic purposes, for the development of technologies needed for the Human Exploration and Development of Space, and to improve Earth-bound combustion and fire-safety related technologies

Human reproduction in space. Late results

Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::3 - Salut i BenestarPostprint (published version

Analyse et amélioration d'une chambre de combustion centimétrique par simulations aux grandes échelles

Designing a meso-scale combustion system remains a challenging scientific and technological issue. Increasing the surface-to-volume ratio promotes wall heat losses, reduces the residence time and turbulence intensity. The main objective of this thesis is to understand the physical phenomena involved in the centimetre-sized asymmetric whirl cubic burner of 8 x 10 x 8 mm3 (millimètre cube) and develop specific adapted numerical tools. The methane/air reactive flow is studied using detailed LES. While fuel and air are injected separately, combustion takes place in the premixed regime. However combustion is far from being complete, causing low combustion efficiency and significant emissions of pollutants. The second objective is to adapt in the best possible way the performances of this burner. Hydrogen enrichment of the fuel mixture showed significant efficiency enhancement and reduced pollutant emissions. Several other combustor geometries are also studied, paving the way for future improvement.Réaliser un système de combustion à petite échelle reste aujourd’hui un défi. L’augmentation du rapport surface/volume favorise les pertes thermiques, contribue à la diminution du temps de séjour et limite la turbulence. Le premier objectif de cette thèse est de comprendre les phénomènes physiques intervenant dans un brûleur centimétrique tourbillonnaire de 8 x10 x 8 mm3 (millimètre cube) et mettre au point des outils numériques adaptés. L’écoulement réactif méthane/air est étudié au moyen de simulations numériques LES. La combustion ne consomme pas l’intégralité du carburant, entraînant un rendement de combustion de l’ordre de 50% et d’importantes émissions de polluants. Le deuxième objectif est d’adapter les performances de ce brûleur. L’enrichissement en hydrogène a montré une amélioration sensible du rendement et une réduction des émissions polluantes. Plusieurs configurations géométriques de la chambre ont aussi été étudiées, ce qui a permis de dégager des axes d’améliorations