Investigation of Solidification of Nitrous Oxide under Flow Conditions
Abstract
Under emergency conditions, it may be necessary to land the Airborne Laser Laboratory (ALL) aircraft with the propellant tanks empty. For this reason, the design provides for dumping liquid propellants and venting gaseous propellants to the atmosphere. Indications were that dumping and venting the N2O tank might be problematic. Two actual incidents generated concern regarding possible solidification of the N2O in the dump and/or vent lines if the tank were emptied during flight. It was felt that if solidification took place in the lines, the lines might be blocked and the N2O tank could not be emptied. The report describes both the theoretical and experimental work done in order to evaluate the problem. The theoretical analysis aided greatly in understanding what was happening and why, but it was incapable of assessing whether or not an operational problem existed during dumping of the N2O. This question was finally settled by a test program, and it was found that dumping and venting N2O presented no operational problems.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 01, 1975
- Accession Number
- ADA013772
Entities
People
- James Cawthra
- Melvin Eisenstadt
Organizations
- Air Force Research Laboratory