RU2317234C1 - Device for filling the spacecraft engine plants with xenon - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: equipment for filling the spacecraft engine plants with high density gases.

SUBSTANCE: proposed device includes filling tank and temperature-controlled tank being filled, filling line with check valves, pressure accumulator and heat exchanger with refrigerating unit. Device is also provided with throttle valves, electropneumatic valve and other components. Device is equipped with evacuation line with pressure recorder mounted in it. This line is mounted in parallel with filling line and is connected to it at some points through system of valves. It is also connected with vacuum pump and gas excessive pressure source through system of valves. Device is provided with sampling tank connected to filling line through valve and temperature-controlled container of filling tank equipped with heater and temperature recorder. Temperature-controlled container of tank being filled is connected with pressure source by means of line fitted with heater.

EFFECT: improved quality of filling procedure due to high degree of evacuation of filling line and tanks being filled and due to check of xenon quality.

4 cl, 1 dwg

Description

The invention relates to a means of refueling with high density gases, mainly capacities of propulsion systems of spacecraft.

A device is known according to patent RU 2274587 C2, 04.20.2006, which is selected as a prototype and contains a refueling tank connected to a refueling line with a refueling tank, in which are installed: two unidirectional direct-acting check valves and two opposite-acting unidirectional check valves of opposite action, between which there is a pressure accumulator, made in the form of a container consisting of two cavities separated by a membrane, one of the cavities is connected to a pressure source, and the other I am connected to the lines between the check valves of each pair, which are switched by the valves installed in these lines; a heat exchanger equipped with a refrigeration unit installed between two pairs of unidirectional direct and opposite action check valves and a pair of check valves installed parallel to each other; a throttle installed between the fuel tank and the pressure accumulator; scales with a thermostatic container installed on them, which is connected through a throttle to a pressure source; an electro-pneumatic valve connected to a pressure switch and a pressure drop switch and installed in a line connecting the cavity of the pressure accumulator to the pressure source.

The known device has the disadvantages of:

- high-quality evacuation of cavities behind check valves is not ensured, because when the pressure behind the check valves is reached equal to the force of their closing, further evacuation of the cavities behind the check valves is impossible;

- there are no funds for sampling xenon at the exit of the fueling line (at the entrance to the refueling tank) to control the refueling xenon for compliance with the required quality;

- there are no means to change the xenon pressure in the tanks, in order to reduce the time for refueling (draining), as well as more complete extraction of xenon from the tanks;

- there are no funds to prevent dew on the refueling tank after the cessation of its cooling by throttled air;

- there are no means to control the temperature of the refueling and refueling tanks during the execution of work.

The aim of the invention is to remedy these disadvantages.

This goal is achieved by the fact that the device is additionally equipped with: a thermostatically controlled refueling tank container with a heater and a temperature recorder, which is connected through a throttle to a pressure source; a temperature recorder mounted in a thermostatic container of the refueling tank, which is connected to the pressure source by a line with a heater installed in it; a sampling tank connected through a valve to the filling line between the valve connecting the filling line to the nozzle of the neck of the filling tank and a valve disconnecting two parallel check valves from the valve; a vacuum line with a pressure recorder mounted in parallel with the filling valve and connected through valves to the vacuum pump, to a source of excess gas pressure, and to the filling line: between the connection of the filling line to the filling tank valve and the valve disconnecting the throttle from the mentioned fitting; between the valve connecting the filling line to the filler neck of the refueling tank and the valve disconnecting a pair of check valves installed parallel to each other from the valve; between two sequentially installed unidirectional direct acting valves; between two check valves installed in parallel parallel to each other and a pair of check valves installed parallel to each other.

The essence of the invention is illustrated by the drawing, which shows a diagram of the proposed device, for convenience, shown docked with refueling, refueling and sampling tanks.

This scheme includes the following elements:

1 - refueling tank;

2 - a filling highway;

3 - vacuum pump;

4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 43, 46, 47, 48, 51, 52, 53 - shutoff valves;

9 - valve of a refueling tank;

11, 12, 13, 44 - pressure recorders;

14, 30, 39 - chokes;

15 - electro-pneumatic valve;

16, 26 - cavity pressure accumulator;

17 - pressure accumulator;

18 - a refueling tank;

19, 20, 21 - direct unidirectional check valves;

32, 33, 34 - unidirectional check valves of opposite action;

22 - valve for opening and closing the filler neck of the refueling tank 1;

23 - heat exchanger;

24 - refrigeration unit;

25, 35 - filters;

27 - a separating membrane of the pressure accumulator;

28 - weight device;

29 - high pressure switch;

31 - thermostatic container of the refueling tank;

36 - pressure drop indicator;

37, 54 - heating elements;

38, 41 - temperature recorders for refueling and refueling tanks;

40, 55, 56, 57 - air supply lines;

42 - thermostatic container of the refueling tank;

45 - highway vacuum;

49 - sampling tank;

50 - valve sampling tank.

Work with the device for refueling the tank 1 with xenon from the tank 18 is performed in the following sequence:

1. Connect the refueling tank 1 to the device (the filler neck of the refueling tank 1 is closed), the refueling tank 18 (valve 9 is closed) and the sampling tank 49 (valve 50 is closed).

2. Valves 8, 10 are closed. Valves 4, 5, 6, 7, 43, 46, 47, 48, 51, 52, 53 are opened. Gas is supplied from the overpressure gas source to the device line (for example, nitrogen, special-purpose fluid according to GOST 9293 -74) the required pressure, then close the valve 51 and check the tightness of the assembled refueling circuit by the "pressure drop" method (control by pressure recorders 11, 12, 13, 44). Open the valve 10, reduce the pressure in the device to atmospheric (control by pressure recorders 11, 12, 13, 44). Close valve 10.

3. Open the valve 8. Vacuum pump 3 lines of the device to the required residual pressure (control by pressure recorders 11, 12, 13, 44). Close valve 8 and check the tightness of the assembled charging circuit by the “leakage” method (control by pressure recorders 11, 12, 13, 44).

4. Open the valves 8, 50 and the filler neck of the tank 1 with the valve 22. Vacuum the device’s lines 3, the tank 1 and the sampling 49 tanks, with a vacuum pump, to the required residual pressure (control by pressure recorders 11, 12, 13, 44). Close the filler neck of the tank 1 valve 22, close the valves 43, 47, 52, 53.

5. Supply air from the overpressure source through line 57 and throttle 14 to a thermostatically controlled container 31 for cooling the refueling tank 1 (control by temperature recorder 38).

6. Command the electro-pneumatic valve 15 to communicate the cavity 16 of the pressure accumulator 17 with drainage (atmosphere). Close the valves 6, 7. Close the neck of the fuel tank 1 with valve 22. Open the valve 9. Xenon from the fuel tank 18 through valves 9, 14, throttle 30, non-return valve 19, valve 5, non-return valve 20, heat exchanger 23 (in which gaseous xenon goes into the liquid phase), filter 25, check valve 21, valves 46, 22 flow into the sampling tank 49 due to the pressure difference in the fuel tank 18 and the sampling tank 49 (control by pressure recorders 11, 12, 13). Part of the xenon fills the cavity 26 of the pressure accumulator 17, moving the sealed membrane 27 to the “lower” position due to the pressure difference in the cavities 26 and 16 of the pressure accumulator 17. Close the valve 48, 50.

7. Dock the sampling tank 49 from the device and transmit it for analysis of xenon.

8. Open the valve 22 of the filler neck of the tank 1 and control by weight 28 the quantity and mass increment of the refueling xenon.

9. When reducing the increment in the mass of refueling xenon in the refueling tank 1 to a predetermined value, heat the refueling tank 18 with an electric heater 37 (for example, an electric blanket) in order to increase the xenon pressure in it (control by temperature recorder 41).

10. When equalizing the pressures in the refueling 18 and refueling 1 tanks and stopping the increase in xenon mass (weight control 28), a command is given to the electro-pneumatic valve 15 to close the drainage and air supply from the overpressure source through line 55 to the cavity 16 of the pressure accumulator 17. Upon reaching in the pressure cavity 16, which ensures the delivery of xenon from the cavity 26 of the pressure accumulator 17 through the valve 5 and the check valve 20 into the refueling tank 1, the sealed membrane moves to the “upper” position, the high pressure switch 29 yes gives a command to the electro-pneumatic valve 15 to close the line 55 and open the air drain from the cavity 16 of the pressure accumulator 17. When the air pressure in the cavity 16 reaches atmospheric pressure, the pressure drop indicator 36 instructs the electro-pneumatic valve 15 to close the drain and supply air to the cavity 16 of the pressure accumulator 17.

The cycles of the pressure accumulator 17 are repeated until the desired xenon mass in the tank 1 is reached (weight control 28), close the filling neck of the tank 1 with the valve 22.

11. Stop the air supply from the source of overpressure through line 57 and throttle 14.

12. The air heated by the heater 54 is supplied from the overpressure source through the line 56 to a thermostatically controlled container 31 for heating the xenon in the tank 1. Heating is continued for a predetermined period of time, which ensures the heating of the xenon in the tank 1 to the ambient temperature .

13. Remove the refueling tank 1 from the container 31 and install it on the spacecraft.

In the case of the failed launch of the spacecraft, the discharge of xenon from the refueling tank 1 to the refueling tank 18 is carried out similarly to refueling, but in the reverse sequence, while the cooling of the refueling tank 18 is carried out by blowing air from the overpressure source through line 40 through the throttle 39.

From the sources of patent and information materials known to the authors, the totality of the features of the claimed objects is unknown, therefore, the applicant is inclined to consider the proposed technical solution as meeting the signs of novelty.

This technical solution has been tested at the enterprise and is planned to be used when refueling tanks of spacecraft propulsion systems with xenon.

Claims (4)

1. A device for refueling a propulsion system of a spacecraft with xenon, comprising a refueling tank connected to a refueling tank by a refueling line, in which a pair of unidirectional direct-acting check valves and a pair of parallel unidirectional check valves of opposite action are installed, between which there is a pressure accumulator made in in the form of a container consisting of two cavities separated by a membrane, one of the cavities being connected to a pressure source and the other I am connected to the lines between the check valves of each of these pairs, equipped with switching valves installed in these lines, a heat exchanger with a refrigeration unit installed between the specified pairs of unidirectional check valves of direct and opposite action and a pair of check valves installed parallel to each other, a throttle installed between the refueling tank and the pressure accumulator, scales with a thermostatic container installed on them, which is connected through a throttle to the source m of pressure, an electro-pneumatic valve connected with a pressure switch and a pressure drop detector and installed in a line connecting the cavity of the pressure accumulator with a pressure source, characterized in that the device is equipped with a vacuum line with a pressure recorder installed in it, connected through valves with a vacuum pump and with a source gas overpressure and connected to the filling line between the fitting for connecting the filling line to the valve of the filling tank and the valve, disconnecting he specified the throttle from the mentioned fitting, and also between the valve connecting the fuel line to the nozzle of the neck of the refueling tank and the valve disconnecting the specified pair of check valves installed parallel to each other from the said valve, as well as between the specified unidirectional direct-acting check valves, as well as between the indicated pairs of unidirectional check valves and the specified pair of check valves installed parallel to each other. 2. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that it is equipped with a sampling tank connected through a valve to the fuel line between the valve connecting the fuel line to the nozzle of the neck of the refueling tank and a valve disconnecting a pair of check valves installed parallel to each other from the said valve. 3. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the refueling tank is installed in a thermostatically controlled container, which is equipped with a heater, a temperature recorder and connected through a throttle to a pressure source. 4. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the refueling tank is installed in the indicated thermostatically controlled container, connected to the pressure source by the line in which the heater is installed, and equipped with a temperature recorder.