Spectral mass gauging of unsettled liquid with acoustic waves

[摘要] Propellant mass gauging is one of the key technologies required to enable the next step in NASA's space exploration program. At present, there is no reliable method to accurately measure the amount of unsettled liquid propellant in a large-scale propellant tank in micro- or zero gravity. Recently we proposed a new approach to use sound waves to probe the resonance frequencies of the two-phase liquid-gas mixture and take advantage of the mathematical properties of the high frequency spectral asymptotics to determine the volume fraction of the tank filled with liquid. We report the current progress in exploring the feasibility of this approach in the case of large propellant tanks, both experimental and theoretical. Excitation and detection procedures using solenoids for excitation and both hydrophones and accelerometers for detection have been developed. A 3% uncertainty for mass-gauging was demonstrated for a 200-liter tank partially filled with liquid for various unsettled configurations, such as tilts and artificial ullages.

[发布机构] NASA Ames Research Center, Moffet Field; CA, United States^1;MEI Company, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field; CA, United States^2;SGT, Inc., NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field; CA, United States^3;Department of Mathematical Sciences, NJIT, NJ, United States^4

[效力级别] 物理学 [学科分类] 材料科学（综合）

[关键词] High frequency HF;Key technologies;Mathematical properties;Propellant mass;Reliable methods;Resonance frequencies;Space exploration programs;Two-phase liquid