EXTERNAL TANK CHILL EFFECT ON THE SPACE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM LAUNCH PAD ENVIRONMENT

The external tank (ET) of the Space Transportation System (STS) contains liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen as oxidizer and fuel for the Space Shuttle main engines (SSMEs). Once the cryogens have been loaded into the ET, the temperature of the air surrounding the STS is chilled by the cold outer surface of the ET. This paper describes a two-dimensional flow and thermal analysis to determine this chill effect on the STS launch pad environment subsequent to the ET loading operation. The analysis was done assuming winter conditions and a northwest wind direction. An existing CFD code, Parabolic Hyperbolic Or Elliptical Numerical Integration Code Series (PHOENICS '81), was used in the study. The results are presented as local and average values of the heat transfer coefficient, the Nusselt number, and the surface temperature around the redesigned solid rocket motors (RSRMs) and the ET. The temperature depression caused by the ET chilling of the air in the vicinity of the RSRMs was calculated to be 3-degrees-F below the ambient. This compares with the observed 1-2-degrees-F RSRM surface temperature depression based upon measurements made prior to the winter flight of STS-29. Since the surface temperature would be expected to be slightly higher than the local air temperature, the predicted temperature depression of the air appears to be substantiated.