On Small Disturbance Ascent Vent Behavior

As a spacecraft undergoes ascent in a launch vehicle, its ambient pressure environment transitions from one atmosphere to high vacuum in a matter of a few minutes. Venting of internal cavities is necessary to prevent the buildup of pressure differentials across cavity walls. These pressure differentials are often restricted to low levels to prevent violation of container integrity. Such vents usually consist of fixed orifices, ducts, or combinations of both. Duct conductance behavior is fundamentally different from that for orifices in pressure driven flows governing the launch vehicle ascent depressurization environment. Duct conductance is governed by the average pressure across its length, while orifice conductance is dictated by a pressure ratio. Hence, one cannot define a valid equivalent orifice for a given duct across a range of pressure levels. This presentation discusses development of expressions for these two types of vent elements in the limit of small pressure differentials, explores conditions for their validity, and compares their features regarding ascent depressurization performance.