Testing of Densified Liquid Hydrogen Stratification in a Scale Model Propellant Tank

This paper describes a test program that was conducted at NASA to demonstrate the ability to load densified LH2 into a subscale propellant tank. This work was done through a collaborative effort between NASA Glenn Research Center and the Lockheed Martin Michoud Space Systems (LMMSS). The Multilobe tank, which was made from composite materials similar to that to be used on X-33, was formed from two lobes with a center septum. Test results are shown for data that was collected on filling the subscale tank with densified liquid hydrogen (DLH2) propellant that was produced at the NASA Plum Brook Station. Data is compared to analytical predictions. Data collected for this test series agrees well with analytical predictions of the environmental heat leak into the tank and the thermal stratification characteristics of the hydrogen propellant in the tank as it was filled with DLH2.