The numerical simulation of liquid sloshing on board spacecraft
Abstract
The subject of study is the influence of sloshing liquid on the dynamics of spacecraft. A combined theoretical and experimental approach has been followed. On the one hand, CFD simulations have been carried out to predict the combined liquid/solid body motion. Basically a volume-of-fluid (VOF) approach is followed, however with improvements in the treatment of the free liquid surface: these cover the surface reconstruction and displacement and the calculation of surface tension effects by means of a local height function. Also attention has been paid to the stability of the numerical coupling between solid-body dynamics and liquid dynamics. On the other hand, in-orbit experiments have been carried out with the Sloshsat FLEVO satellite. The paper describes a first comparison between theoretical predictions and experimental findings.
- Publication:
-
Journal of Computational Physics
- Pub Date:
- May 2007
- DOI:
- 10.1016/j.jcp.2006.12.020
- Bibcode:
- 2007JCoPh.224...82V
- Keywords:
-
- 47.11.-j;
- 47.55.N-;
- 45.20.D-;
- Computational methods in fluid dynamics;
- Interfacial flows;
- Newtonian mechanics