Experimental Investigation of Spherical Tank Slosh Dynamics with Water and Liquid Nitrogen

Abstract

Understanding, predicting, and controlling fluid slosh dynamics is critical to safety and improving the performance of liquid propulsion systems for space missions. Computational fluid dynamics simulations can be used to predict the dynamics of slosh. Experimental and numerical studies of water slosh have been conducted; however, cryogenic slosh data relevant for validating computational fluid dynamics are lacking. This paper presents the results of slosh experiments with a spherical tank without and with a ring baffle using both water and liquid nitrogen. The experiments were designed to measure forces from continuous excitation over a relevant range of frequencies and amplitudes, natural frequency, and damping parameters. Analytical models and empirical correlations for slosh damping are constructed and compared to the experimental results. An established analytical model for slosh forces is compared to the experimental results for verification purposes. Experiments with a ring baffle installed show increased damping and attenuation of maximum slosh forces. To provide the greatest utility of these data for future rocket and spacecraft missions, the results are presented in a fully nondimensional framework.