Engineering Method for Assessing the Behavior of the Main In-Tank Parameters of Launch Vehicle Propulsion Systems under Flight Conditions
Authors: Diesperov N.V., Polyanskiy A.R., Sapozhnikov V.B.
Published in issue: #8(176)/2026
Category: Aviation and Rocket-Space Engineering | Chapter: Thermal, Electric Jet Engines, and Power Plants of Aircrafts
An engineering method based on a computational mathematical model is proposed for evaluating the variation of in-tank parameters in the propellant tanks of advanced launch vehicles according to the flight profile. A simplified approach to modeling in-tank processes is considered using a lumped-parameter model, which assumes that, at any given time, the thermodynamic parameters are uniform throughout the gas cavity of the tank. In addition, the complex physics of the interaction between the pressurizing gas jet issuing from the gas supply line and the propellant surface is replaced by averaged values of the heat transfer coefficient and evaporation rate obtained during previously conducted experiments. The system of gas-dynamic equations is supplemented with a tank pressurization algorithm implemented within the tank gas-cavity pressure control system. Based on the proposed mathematical model, predictive values of several in-tank parameters of the propellant tanks are obtained and compared with flight-test data. Thus, the proposed mathematical model is verified against telemetry data acquired during flight testing. The relevance of the study is driven by the need for rapid preliminary engineering assessment of in-tank parameters and characteristics of the propellant feed and pressurization system during the development of new advanced launch vehicles.
EDN KCFHAX
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