Accurate Propellant Loading Estimation of Launch Vehicle Cryogenic Tanks Having Profile Deviations
摘要
The liquid propulsion stages of a launch vehicle use propellants, stored at ambient or cryogenic temperatures in propellant tanks. The theoretical volume of propellant tanks as per the fabrication drawings will differ from the actual volume due to fabrication deviations. The profile deviations in the tank will affect the propellant filled during servicing. Hence, the internal volume of the propellant tank is to be computed accurately. The estimation of internal volume of two cryogenic propellant tanks fabricated from AA2219 alloy is addressed in this paper. To compute the internal volumes of tanks, detailed dimensional inspection of the tanks is carried out. The tank internal volumes are computed using profile measurements of the realized tanks measured using laser tracker. In addition, photogrammetry technique is carried out to verify the computation. The computed internal volumes are compared with the volumes estimated as per the fabrication drawings. The changes in the tank internal volumes from room temperature to service condition are estimated using finite element analysis. Based on the studies, a generic method is developed for predicting the volume profile at service conditions.