Empirical Correlations for the Solubility of Pressurant Gases in Cryogenic Propellants

We have analyzed data published by others reporting the solubility of helium in liquid hydrogen, oxygen, and methane, and of nitrogen in liquid oxygen, to develop empirical correlations for the mole fraction of these pressurant gases in the liquid phase as a function of temperature and pressure. The data, compiled and provided by NIST, are from a variety of sources and covers a large range of liquid temperatures and pressures. The correlations were developed to yield accurate estimates of the mole fraction of the pressurant gas in the cryogenic liquid at temperature and pressures of interest to the propulsion community, yet the correlations developed are applicable over a much wider range. The mole fraction solubility of helium in all these liquids is less than 0.3% at the temperatures and pressures used in propulsion systems. When nitrogen is used as a pressurant for liquid oxygen, substantial contamination can result, though the diffusion into the liquid is slow.