Thermodynamic vent system performance testing with subcooled liquid methane and gaseous helium pressurant Original Research Article

LCH4 testing was conducted at the Marshall Space Flight Center using the multipurpose hydrogen test bed (MHTB) to evaluate the performance of a spray-bar thermodynamic vent system (TVS) with subcooled LCH4 and gaseous helium (GHe) pressurant. Thirteen days of testing were performed in November 2006, with total tank heat leak conditions of about 715 W and 420 W at a fill level of approximately 90%. A total of 23 TVS cycles were completed. The TVS successfully controlled the ullage pressure within a prescribed control band but did not maintain a stable liquid saturation pressure. This was likely due to a TVS design not optimized for this particular propellant and test conditions, and possibly due to a large artificially induced heat input directly into the liquid.