Dynamic Influence of Propellant Sloshing Estimation Using Hybrid: Mechanical Analogy and CFD

Liquid propellant sloshing, which induces perturbations to dynamic behavior of spacecraft, is a serious problem. This paper proposes an approach based on equivalent mechanics theory and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) technology to estimate the dynamic influence of propellant sloshing on spacecraft. A mechanical model was built by CFD technique and packed as a “sloshing” block utilized in the spacecraft Guidance Navigation and Control (GNC) simulation loop. The block takes the motion characteristics of the spacecraft as inputs and outputs perturbative force and torques induced by propellant sloshing. It is more convenient to utilize in analysis of the coupling effect between propellant sloshing dynamics and spacecraft GNC than CFD packages directly. A validation case is taken to validate the accuracy and the superiority of the approach. The deducing process is applied to practical cases, and the simulation results are presented to demonstrate the proposed approach is efficient in identifying the problems induced by sloshing and evaluating effectiveness of several typical schemes for suppressing sloshing.

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