Innovative Model of Liquid Nitrogen Application for Cooling Rocket Fuel Tanks Filling the Ground-Based Systems

To improve the efficiency of space rocket propulsion systems before filling the fuel tanks by means of ground-based equipment, it is essential to carry out the temperature preparation of the fuel. In existing filling systems, liquid nitrogen, obtained from air during liquid oxygen production at spaceports, is used to cool rocket fuel. Operation of systems using heat exchangers and liquid nitrogen is characterized by a lack of efficiency and bulky heat exchange equipment, which leads to high cost of liquid nitrogen for fuel cooling. We developed an innovative model of liquid nitrogen application for cooling the rocket fuel using a heat exchanger filled with antifreeze and placed directly in the tank storage of the filling system. Fuel cooling is implemented by feeding liquid nitrogen into the heat exchanger with antifreeze, and heating is done by heated air supply. The study gives the calculated dependences and the results of rocket fuel cooling analysis. Moreover, we evaluated the model effectiveness. Findings of the research show that the proposed model allows reducing the cost of liquid nitrogen for rocket fuel cooling in comparison with the existing cooling system at the launch complex "Soyuz" by 40 %. According to the estimates, the materials consumption is also reduced by 4.5 times. The innovative model we developed can significantly simplify the design and operational calculations of rocket fuel cooling processes, which is supported by the results of numerical calculations.

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