Self-Pressurization of a Flightweight, Liquid Hydrogen Tank: Simulation and Comparison with Experiments

This paper presents ANSYS Fluent simulation results and analysis for self-pressurization of a flightweight, cryogenic, liquid hydrogen tank in 1-g. These results are compared with experimental data, in particular, pressure evolution and temperature measurements at a set of sensors. The simulations c...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inNASA Center for AeroSpace Information (CASI). Conference Proceedings
Main Authors Stewart, Mark E M, Moder, Jeffrey P
Format Conference Proceeding
LanguageEnglish
Published Hampton NASA/Langley Research Center 25.07.2016
Subjects
CAD
Computer aided design
Computer simulation
Liquid hydrogen
Pressurization
Simulation
Space shuttle
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Summary:This paper presents ANSYS Fluent simulation results and analysis for self-pressurization of a flightweight, cryogenic, liquid hydrogen tank in 1-g. These results are compared with experimental data, in particular, pressure evolution and temperature measurements at a set of sensors. The simulations can be analyzed to identify and quantify heat flows in the tank. Heat flows change over time and influence the self-pressurization process. The initial rate of self-pressurization is sensitive to the initial temperature profile near the interface. Uncertainty in saturation pressure data and the accuracy of experimental measurements complicate simulation of self-pressurization. Numerical issues encountered, and their resolution, are also explained.