Free surface flows under compensated gravity conditions. (Q859729)

This book based primarily on the research work of the author and his colleagues at the Center of Applied Space Technology and Microgravity, University of Bremen, considers the behavior of fluids in a low-gravity environment with special emphasis on application in PMD (propellant management device) systems. In the compensated gravity environment of a spacecraft, the hydrostatic pressure decreases to very low values depending on the residual acceleration, and surface tension forces become dominant. Consequently, surface tension can be used to transport and position liquids if the residual acceleration and the resulting hydrostatic pressure are small compared to the capillary pressure. One prominent application is the use of PMDs in surface-tension satellite tanks. PMDs must ensure that the tank outlet is covered with liquid whenever outflow is demanded. Furthermore, PMDs are used to ensure expulsion and refilling of tanks for liquids and gases for life support, reactants, and experiment supplies. Since most of the PMD designs are not testable on ground and thus rely on analytical or numerical concepts, this book treats three different flow problems with analytical, numerical and experimental means: the transient contour change between two static surface configurations (free surface oscillations), the capillary rise in tubes (capillary rise), and the flow through open capillary channels (choking). These problems are linked together by the same set of equations and boundary conditions which are necessary to model the fluid behavior, and by the same set of characteristic numbers. The book is divided into four parts. The first part introduces the basic equations, the dimensionless parameters and time scales for all problems under consideration. Some important values of the dimensionless parameters are given. This is followed by a literature survey of the most relevant papers. The second part deals with the transient contour change which occurs in right circular cylinders with a confined volume of liquid as well as during the initial stages of the capillary rise into a cylindrical tube from an infinite reservoir, if a step reduction of the body force occurs and the system becomes surface-tension dominated. The problem is treated experimentally and numerically with special emphasis on the boundary condition at the wall. In the third part the author considers the capillary rise in tubes if the reservoir is infinite and a wetting liquid is allowed to spread into the system without limits. The experimental results are presented for a wide range of parameters, and a one-dimensional theory is corroborated by the experiments. The fourth part addresses the flow through an open capillary channel which can be considered as a propellant pipeline whose cross-sectional area is partly confined by free liquid surfaces. Finally, an appendix gives some additional information about the inlet and entrance pressure losses of the considered flow problems. It is a very well written research monograph, which should be of considerable value to the scientists working in this field.