Example Impact of Nonuniform Acceleration Fields on Liquids in Spacecraft

Abstract

Nomenclature a= steady acceleration f = liquid fill fraction M = mass of a nearby spacecraft B = Bond number B gg = ratio of gravity-gradient and capillary effects B ng = ratio of nearby-spacecraft and capillary effects B sg = ratio of self-gravitation and capillary effects G = universal gravitational constant, 6:6742 10 11 m 3 kg 1 s 2 . P a = pressure difference due to acceleration P c = pressure difference due to capillary effects P ng = pressure difference due to a nearby spacecraft P gg = pressure difference due to gravity gradient P sg = pressure difference due to self-gravitation R orb = orbital radius R T = radius of the spherical tank = separation distance = mass density = surface tension = orbital period

Fifty-Plus-Year Postflight Analysis of First Fluid Experiment Aboard a Spacecraft

“…In the MA7 container, the torus-shaped bubble is confined between the standpipe and spherical tank walls due only to wetting, geometry, and fill fraction, whereas in the Gravity Probe B tank, the torus-shaped ullage is also impacted by the added complexity of centripetal acceleration. Collicott [13] identifies asymmetric interface configurations in a spherical tank with a central vane structure for a specific range of fill fractions when g 0.…”