Numerical Calculation of Thermal Effect on Cavitation in Cryogenic Fluids

A key design issue related to the turbopump of the rocket engine is that cavitation occurs in cryogenic fluids when the fluid pressure is lower than the vapor pressure at a local thermodynamic state. Cavitation in cryogenic fluids generates substantial thermal effects and strong variations in fluid properties, which in turn alter the cavity characteristics. To date, fewer investigate the thermal effect on cavitation in cryogenic fluids clearly by the numerical methods due to the difficulty of the heat transfer in the phase change process. In order to study the thermal effect on cavitation in cryogenic fluid, computations are conducted around a 2D quarter caliber hydrofoil in liquid nitrogen and hydrogen respectively by implementing modified Merkle cavitation model, which accounts for the energy balance and variable thermodynamic properties of the fluid. The numerical results show that with the thermal effect, the vapour content in constant location decreases, the cavity becomes more porous and the interface becomes less distinct which shows increased spreading while getting shorter in length. In the cavity region, the temperature around the cavity depresses due to absorb the evaporation latent heat and the saturation pressure drops. When the vapour volume fraction is higher, the temperature depression and pressure depression becomes larger. It is also observed that a slight temperature rise is found above the reference fluid temperature at the cavity rear end attributed to the release of latent heat during the condensation process. When the fluid is operating close to its critical temperature, thermal effects on cavitation are more obviously in both the liquid nitrogen and hydrogen. The thermal effect on cavitation in liquid hydrogen is more distinctly compared with that in liquid nitrogen due to the density ratio, vapour pressure and other variable properties of the fluid. The investigation provides aid for the design of the cryogenic pump of the liquid rocket.

Flow-induced vibration characteristics of the U-type Coriolis mass flowmeter with liquid hydrogen

Compared with liquid nitrogen(LN_(2))and water,the density of liquid hydrogen(LH_(2))is more than one order of magnitude smaller,which leads to significantly different flow-induced vibration characteristics in the coriolis mass flowmeter(CMF).Based on the Euler beam theory,the complex set of equations of fluid-solid interactions for the U-type pipe Coriolis flowmeter with LH_(2)is solved.The calculation results are firstly validated by comparing the dimensionless frequency,displacement,and twist mode shape with the theoretical and experimental results in the other publications with water and kerosene as the working fluids.Then,the results of dimensionless frequency,phase difference,and time lag for LH_(2)are compared with those for LN_(2)and water,and the effects of the dimensionless flow velocity,sensor position,and the radius of the curved pipe are analyzed in detail for LH_(2).Results show that the time lag of LH_(2)is an order of magnitude smaller than that for LN_(2)or water.The excitation frequency for LH_(2)is much larger than that for LN_(2).Effects of geometric parameters on the time lag are also analyzed for the three fluids and the results contribute to the design optimization of a CMF for LH_(2).