MODELING OF THE CHECK VALVE OPERATION IN THE RECONFIGURABLE HYDRAULIC FEED SYSTEM OF A LIQUID ROCKET ENGINE

Abstract

Among the various automation units used in pneumatic–hydraulic systems of rocket hardware, check valves are widely employed. They are most commonly used in the filling lines of different tanks and in the pressurization lines of launch vehicle propellant tanks, where they prevent reverse flow and the ingress of vapors into the pressurization system. In liquid rocket engines (LREs), check valves are installed in drainage lines and in inert gas purging circuits. Particular attention is given to the use of check valves in reconfigurable hydraulic systems, in which the flow direction changes during the LRE operation. The goal of this study is to develop a mathematical model of dynamic processes in a check valve, verify it using CFD simulations of the pressure distribution over the valve poppet surface, and apply it to the analysis of transient processes in a reconfigurable hydraulic system. To determine the flow force acting on the valve poppet, this paper proposes an approach in the lumped-parameter approximation based on the flow rate balance of the working fluid in the valve flow passage. The model considers the radial inflow at the valve inlet, which depends on the poppet travel, and the peripheral flow through the narrow clearance between the valve body and the poppet. To implement this approach, it is sufficient to know the valve geometry and the discharge coefficients, which are assumed to be constant. For a reconfigurable propellant feed system containing check valves, a mathematical model of low-frequency dynamic processes was developed, and transient processes during the LRE startup were simulated. During the startup, the propellant feed of the LRE gas generator is automatically switched by the check valves from the start tank supply to the pump supply. Transient processes were simulated for the flow force acting on the check valve poppet determined using CFD simulation and the lumped-parameter approximation. A satisfactory agreement between the results of these two approaches was demonstrated. The possibility of using the proposed lumped-parameter approximation to determine the flow force acting on the check valve poppet was justified, thus enabling the development of mathematical models of dynamic processes in reconfigurable hydraulic systems without resorting to computationally expensive CFD simulations.

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