• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.42 no.10
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• pp.870-877
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• 2014

Geostationary satellites undergo various orbital perturbations and this results in location change. Therefore, all the geostationary satellites use the thruster in order to control the location change. For this purpose, the suitable amount of liquid propellant is mounted and the amount of propellant is reduced as time goes by. This means that the lifetime of the satellite depends on the residual propellant amount. Therefore precise residual propellant gauging is very important for the mitigation of economic losses arised from premature removal of satellite from its orbit, satellites replacement planning, slot management and so on. In this paper, we introduce the propellant gauging methods used in the geostationary satellites and the propellant gauging method studied in the laboratory level.

• International Journal of Fluid Machinery and Systems
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.1-6
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• 2014

The propellant acquisition vane (PAV) is a key part of a vane type surface tension propellant management device (PMD), which can manage the propellant effectively. In the present paper, the fluid transportation behaviors for five PAVs with different sections were investigated by using microgravity drop tower test. Further, numerical simulation for the propellant flow in a PMD under microgravity condition was also carried out based on VOF model, and showed the similar flow pattern for PAVs to the experiment. It is noted that the section geometry of PAVs is one of the main factors affecting the fluid transportation behavior of PMD. PAVs with bottom length ratio of 5/6 and 1/2 have larger propellant transportation velocity. Based on the experiments, there were two stages during the process of propellant transportation under microgravity environment: liquid relocation and steady transportation stage. It is also recognized that there is a linear correlation between liquid transportation velocity and relative time's square root. Those results can not only provide a guideline for optimization of new vane type PMDs, but also are helpful for fluid control applications in space environment.

• Journal of Korean Society for Quality Management
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.735-749
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• 2023

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to derive solutions and prevent similar cases from occurring by analyzing the causes of cracks found in temperature cycling tests of rocket motor. Methods: By combining the results of the current state confirmation test, non-destructive test, domestic and foreign rocket motor comparison test, cutting test, and adhesion test according to the number of times to apply mold release agent, a Cause and Effect Diagram analysis was performed to derive the cause of cracks. Results: Through this study, 26 factors that could cause cracking in rocket motors during temperature cycling tests were identified. Through various additional test results, a total of five causes were identified, including chemical and structural design of the joint between the propellant and stress relief insert, omission of procedure in the manufacturing procedures, natural aging due to temperature, and load accumulation due to temperature changes. The fundamental cause was confirmed to be insufficient consideration of the release properties of the propellant and stress relief insert. Conclusion: During the design process, it was confirmed that this could be solved by structurally or chemically designing the insert so that it does not combine with the propellant, or by applying a mold release agent during the manufacturing process.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.62-71
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• 2015

Geostationary satellites use the thruster in order to control the location change and mount the suitable amount of liquid propellant depending on the operating lifetime. Therefore the lifetime of the geostationary satellite depends on the residual propellant amount and the precise residual propellant gauging is very important for the mitigation of economic losses arised from premature removal of satellite from its orbit, satellites replacement planning, slot management and so on. The propellant gauging methods of geostationary satellite are mostly used PVT method, thermal mass method and bookkeeping method. In this paper, we analysis the modeling of COMS(Communication, Ocean & Meteorological Satellite) bipropellant system for bookkeeping method and COMS GTO(Geostationary Transfer Orbit) injection propellant estimation using Monte-Carlo method.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.43 no.12
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• pp.1116-1123
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• 2015

The lifetime of a geostationary satellite depends on the residual propellant amount and therefore the precise residual propellant gauging is very important for the mitigation of economic loss arised from premature removal of satellite from its orbit, satellites replacement planning, slot management and so on. In this paper, the thermal mass method and its uncertainty are described. The residual propellant analysis of a geostationary satellite is simulated based on the KOREASAT data and the uncertainty of thermal mass method is calculated by using the Monte Carlo method. The results of this study show the importance parameter of estimation residual propellant using the thermal mass method.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers Conference
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• 2017.05a
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• pp.984-990
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• 2017

Mesh screen modeling and liquid propellant discharge simulation of surface tension tank were performed using commercial CFD software Flow-3d. $350{\times}2600$, $400{\times}3000$ and $510{\times}3600$ DTW mesh screen were modeled using macroscopic porous media model. Porosity, capillary pressure, and drag coefficient were assigned for each mesh screen model, and bubble point simulations were performed. The mesh screen model was validated with the experimental data. Based on the screen modeling, liquid propellant discharge simulation from PMD tank was performed. NTO was assigned as the liquid propellant, and void was set to flow into the tank inlet to achieve an initial volume flow rate of liquid propellant in $3{\times}10^{-3}g$ acceleration condition. The intial flow pressure drop through the mesh screen was approximately 270 Pa, and the pressure drop increased with time. Liquid propellant discharge was sustained until the flow pressure drop reached approximately 630 Pa, which was near the estimated bubble point value of the screen model.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Military Science and Technology
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.509-516
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• 2019

It is well known that nitroglycerin(NG) may evaporate and migrate from the triple base propellant grains in storage. This physical process makes it double base environment to the CCC(combustible cartridge case) which is based on nitrocellulose(NC) without NG. Meanwhile, it is not appropriate to use diphenylamine(DPA) as a stabilizer for CCC in this double base environment because of incompatibility between DPA and NG. So we estimated the shelf life to study the effect of NG migration from propellant to CCC by following the procedures in the STANAG 4257. And we found out that CCC with ethylcentralite(ECL) has 7.5 years longer shelf life than with DPA, when NG migrates to CCC from triple base propellant grains.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.96-106
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• 2011

There are many advantages in applying gel propellant to a gel propulsion system. These include higher performances, the energy management of liquid propulsion system, reliable storability and low leakage characteristics. Additionally, gel propulsion system are preferable to the high density impulse of propulsion system. Also, when compared to liquid propellants, the gel propellants acquire greater heat energy. Gel propellants achieve a high specific impulse when metal particles with aluminum and boron are added. With respect to atomization, an inactive process occurs due to the variable viscosity of the metal particles and gelling agents. To improve the defect of atomization and combustion characteristics of gel propellant, a variety of issues related to spray and combustion is introduced here.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers Conference
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• 2004.03a
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• pp.687-692
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• 2004

For the prediction of sloshing in the propellant tank of rocket vehicle utilized in RVT (reusable rocket vehicle testing) conducted by ISAS/JAXA, the flow field in the propellant tank during the ballistic flight was experimentally reproduced with the sub-scale model of it. The lateral acceleration as large as about 0.8 G was provided with a mechanical exciter and the deformation of liquid surface in the vessel was visualized with a high-speed camera. The several con-figurations of damping devices were installed and tested in the vessel, which should keep the ullage gas away from the outlet port. It was consequently suggested that the combination of a baffle plate and a perforated cylinder could be effective against the gas suction before the re-ignition of the engine. The sloshing phenomena were also simulated with the CFD code, called CIP-LSM. The numerical results showed good agreement with the corresponding data obtained in the experiment.

• Progress in Superconductivity and Cryogenics
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.64-69
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• 2014

Measuring an exact amount of remaining cryogenic liquid propellant under microgravity condition is one of the important issues of rocket vehicle. A Pressure-Volume-Temperature (PVT) gauging method is attractive due to its minimal additional hardware and simple gauging process. In this paper, PVT gauging method using liquid nitrogen is investigated under microgravity condition with parabolic flight. A 9.2 litre metal cryogenic liquid storage tank containing approximately 30% of liquid nitrogen is pressurized by ambient temperature helium gas. During microgravity condition, the inside of the liquid tank becomes near-isothermal condition within 1 K difference indicated by 6 silicon diode sensors vertically distributed in the middle of the liquid tank. Helium injection with higher mass flow rate after 10 seconds of the waiting time results in successful measurements of helium partial pressure in the tank. Average liquid volume measurement error is within 11% of the whole liquid tank volume and standard deviation of errors is 11.9. As a result, the applicability of PVT gauging method to liquid propellant stored in space is proven with good measurement accuracy.