A three-dimensional flow model of screen channel liquid acquisition devices for propellant management in microgravity

Screen channel liquid acquisition devices (LADs) are among the most promising technologies for separating liquid and vapor phases in propellant storage tanks under microgravity conditions and thus ensuring vapor-free propellant supply to spacecraft engines. However, the prediction of the critical flow rate of a screen channel LAD relies on the full understanding of the three dimensional distribution of injection velocity. In this study, the flow characteristics at the entrance region of the LAD were investigated via particle image velocimetry (PIV) technique and numerical simulations under various working conditions. The experimental results illustrated that the velocity component normal to the porous woven mesh is non-uniform in both streamwise and spanwise directions of channel flow and that this phenomenon has a significant influence on the critical flow rate. Hence, a model that accounts for the three-dimensional flow field was proposed to predict the critical flow rate. The average error in the critical flow rate, which was determined by comparing the proposed model’s predictions and the experimental results, was less than 8.4%.