Liquid sloshing and anti-sloshing of spacecraft tank during outflow

The sloshing and anti-sloshing of the liquid in the spacecraft tank during outflow was simulated numerically, using VOF (volume of fluid) method under a harmonic acceleration excitation. The influence of outflow on liquid sloshing was analyzed. The liquid sloshing of the tank with different widths and arrangement of anti-sloshing baffles was simulated, and also adopted to study the effect of anti-sloshing. The accuracy of VOF method was verified by comparison of simulated and experimental results. The fluctuation of the gravity center of liquid increased obviously with the decrease of the residual liquid volume during outflow. During the sloshing, the fluctuation can be reduced significantly with the setting of the anti-sloshing baffles. The comparisons of baffles with four different width show that the effect of anti-sloshing is good, and the pressure imposed on the baffle is least when the baffle width is 1/10 of the tank diameter. The anti-sloshing effect of the five layers baffles is better than four layers or six layers baffles. © 2018, Editorial Department of Journal of Aerospace Power. All right reserved.