The hydrogen vent valve on the outside of the Space Shuttle External Tank is ordered to close right before launch and should remain closed during flight. However, there is an accepted risk that a small amount of leakage of hydrogen during flight may occur. There is a possibility that the mixing of the leaking hydrogen with the ambient air may form a combusting plume if ignited. The impingement of the burning plume on the External Tank may damage its Thermal Protection System. A series of computational studies were performed to predict the heating of the Thermal Protection System by the impingement of the hydrogen flame. The calculations were based on solutions of the three-dimensional compressible Navier-Stokes equations together with a two-equation turbulence model and a two-reaction global hydrogen combustion model. Predicted heat fluxes compared well with available experimental data. The final results will be useful to help design a stronger Thermal Protection System to withstand such a flame impingement scenario.
Computational studies of venting hydrogen flame impingement on the space shuttle external tank
Berechnung der Wirkung von durch Wasserstoffleckage verursachten Flammen auf den Aussenbehaelter der Raumfaehre
AIAA-Papers ; Jan ; 1-16
1989
16 Seiten, 21 Bilder, 4 Tabellen, 9 Quellen
Aufsatz (Konferenz)
Englisch
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