Design and Testing of a Field Gradient System to Control a Hybrid Magneto-Active Slosh Control System

The primary objective of this project is to demonstrate the effectiveness of a magneto-active membrane for slosh control in propellant tanks of arbitrary geometry towards future product development. The active slosh feedback control concept proposed herein is highly innovative as it generates slosh control forces through the “Field Gradient Control” method by applying an external magnetic field gradient on a free-floating membrane with an unusually high magnetic permeability. Proposed effort will test the fit of the magnetic membrane for slosh control in low gravity condition and the long-term compatibility with cryogenic rocket propellants. Power and mass budgets will be established including manufacturing processes for relevant prospective architectures. Conducting the experiment will include the development, testing and integration of the Field Gradient control (FGC) system. To justify the hybrid membrane as a viable Propellant Management Device (PMD), proof-of-concept experiments involving low amplitude at 1.8 mm and high amplitude at 3.0 mm actuator displacement were carried out. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations with an application of electromagnetic field gradient and fluid structure interaction model can be setup using COMSOL multi-physics software with parameters as that of the experiment to verify and validate the experimental setup. Results of this study demonstrated an overall improvement on the active damping effectiveness from the existing passive PMD.