Theses and Dissertations
Issuing Body
Mississippi State University
Advisor
Rais-Rohani, Masoud
Committee Member
Thompson, S. David
Committee Member
Olsen, Gregory
Date of Degree
12-10-2010
Document Type
Graduate Thesis - Open Access
Major
Aerospace Engineering
Degree Name
Master of Science
College
James Worth Bagley College of Engineering
Department
Department of Aerospace Engineering
Abstract
The Upper Stage Reaction Control System provides inlight three-axis attitude control for the Ares I Upper Stage. The system design must accommodate rapid thruster firing to maintain proper launch trajectory and thus allow for the possibility to pulse multiple thrusters simultaneously. Rapid thruster valve closure creates an increase in static pressure, known as waterhammer, which propagates throughout the propellant system at pressures exceeding nominal design values. A series of development tests conducted at Marshall Space Flight Center in 2009 were performed using a waterlow test article to better understand fluid characteristics of the Upper Stage Reaction Control System. A subset of the tests examined the waterhammer pressure and frequency response in the flight-representative system and provided data to anchor numerical models. This thesis presents a comparison of waterhammer test results with numerical model and analytical results. An overview of the flight system, test article, modeling and analysis are also provided.
URI
https://hdl.handle.net/11668/15631
Recommended Citation
Williams, Jonathan Hunter, "Waterhammer modeling for the Ares I Upper Stage Reaction Control System cold flow development test article" (2010). Theses and Dissertations. 4985.
https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/td/4985