Experimental Investigation and Analysis of an Annular Pogo Accumulator

An experimental investigation was conducted on a scaled annular pogo accumulator for the Ares I Upper Stage. The test article was representative of the LO2 feedline and preliminary accumulator design, and included multiple designs of a perforated ring connecting the accumulator to the core feedline flow. The system was pulse tested in water over a range of pulse frequency and flow rates. Time dependent measurements of pressure at various locations in the test article were used to extract system compliance, inertance, and resistance. Preliminary results indicated a significant deviation from standard orifice flow theory and suggest a strong dependence on feedline average velocity. In addition, several CFD analyses were conducted to investigate the details of the time variant flow field. Both two-dimensional and three-dimensional simulations were performed with time varying boundary conditions used to represent system pulsing. The CFD results compared well with the sub-scale results and demonstrated the influence of feedline average velocity on the flow into and out of the accumulator. This paper presents updated results of the investigation including a parametric design space for determining resistance characteristics. Using the updated experimental results a new scaling relationship has been defined for shear flow over a cavity. A comparison of sub-scale and full scale CFD simulations provided early verification of the scaling of the fluid flowfield and resistance characteristics.