Numerical Study of Vane Geometry Parameters on Propellant Management Performance of Common Bulkhead Tanks Under Different Microgravity

With its core advantage of greatly improving the structural efficiency of propellant tanks, the common bulkhead structure has become a key development direction for high-performance satellite surface tension propellant tanks. However, previous studies on vane structural parameters have ignored the influence of microgravity acceleration magnitude on flow mechanism and parameter design, leading to a lack of targeted design criteria for surface tension tanks. This study employs numerical simulation methods and monitoring indicators, such as the leading-edge height and transferred volume of the propellant, to explore the effects of the vane thickness, gap distance, and propellant fill ratio on the gas–liquid management performance of common bulkhead tanks. From the perspective of physical mechanism, this study reveals the transition of the dominant force balance of capillary-induced motion under microgravity: under moderate microgravity of 10 ^− 3 g, the flow is co-dominated by surface tension, inertial force, viscous force and non-negligible gravity; under low microgravity of 10 ^− 5 g, the flow is completely dominated by the balance between surface tension and viscous force. The results demonstrate that increasing the vane thickness significantly enhances management performance while the optimal gap distance is acceleration-dependent. This study offers guidance for designing new-generation common-bulkhead surface tension tanks.