Investigation on Temperature Drop during Pressurant Discharging from Pressurant Tank of Liquid Rocket Propulsion System (I)

Propellant pressurization system in liquid rocket propulsion system plays a role supplying pressurant gas at a controlled pressure into the ullage space of propellant tanks. The most important design parameter for such propellant pressurization system is the temperature of pressurant gas fed from pressurant tank. Such pressurant is gaseous state, of which density is very sensitive to the temperature of pressurant. Generally for the propulsion system, which requires high thrust and is consisted of cryogenic propellant the pressurant is stored at high density and high pressure to reduce the weight of pressurant tanks, which are placed inside of cryogenic propellant tank. That is called cryogenic storage pressurization system. This study investigates the temperature variation of pressurant at the time when the pressurant is coming out of pressurant tank experimentally as well as numerically. Fluids used in this study are air and liquid oxygen as outer fluid and gaseous nitrogen and gaseous helium as pressurant respectively.