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Researcher develops way
to detect low fuel levels
By Luis Jiménez
Summer
Reporter
A Purdue engineer in association with Lockheed
Martin Corp. is developing a technique that could accurately measure
fuel levels in satellites' gas tanks, and could be worth millions of
dollars to companies competing in an aggressive multi-billion dollar
satellite market.
The new technique is based in a mathematical computer
model, called a surface-evolver model, developed in the early 1990s
to solve certain theoretical problems such as the soap bubble formation.
Engineers have been recently working with this model to develop an innovative
method to better determine how much fuel is left.
Steven Collicott, associate professor of aeronautics
and astronautics and developer of the new fuel-gauging method, said
this research could yield important results for communication companies
because there's currently a surplus in satellite communication services.
He said a more efficient way of gauging fuel in satellites could be
the discriminator between different companies' products.
Knowing exactly how fuel is left in a satellite
tank is important and, at the same time, a difficult task. Satellites
in orbit are replaced shortly before they run out of fuel. More accurate
fuel-gauging methods are needed so that companies can better determine
when to replace a satellite, as the cost of prematurely replacing a
satellite is measured in millions of dollars.
Collicott explained there are several reasons for
why it's so difficult to accurately measure the remnants of fuel in
satellites. He said that unlike a car's fuel tank, which has little
float which floats on top of the gasoline and moves a lever that indicates
the amount of fuel, floats does not work in space because everything
is buoyant. He also said the helium that pressurizes the gas adds uncertainty
because helium sometimes goes into solution with the fuel.
He said that the new technique works by describing
to a computer the geometry of the tank, the properties of the rocket
and the volume of the tanks. Given this data, the computer model in
return predicts how they fuel behaves inside the tanks.
Collicott said the new model has many advantages.
"The redundant gauging is a benefit, meaning that no additional hardware
is needed in the satellite," he said. "It's a completely different system
from current gauging methods."
Conventional fuel-gauging methods include "book-keeping"
and the ideal gas law. "Book-keeping" is much like a trip odometer in
a car because it calculates fuel consumption based on the number and
duration of rocket firings since launch. The ideal gas law works by
taking the temperature and pressure measurements of the tank and calculating
how much gas is present. Knowing how much gas is contained in turn reveals
information on how much liquid fuel is present.
Collicott said he spent nearly half a year working
for Lockheed Martin in the development of the research, however, the
hard work paid off. "I got to know their systems and they got to know
my capabilities," he said. "(The research) will ultimately increase
the reliability of the satellites by using different systems to gauge
the fuel."
Collicott said the new technique could lead to
improved thermal control design and improved energy efficiency, which
is so important, he said, because 23,000 miles up, there's no option
for refueling or for repair.
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