Testing Performance of Modeling and Simulation Code of Liquid Propellant Supply System Using Method of Characteristics

The primary objective of a liquid propellant supply system is to supply propellant to the engine, enabling stable mission performance. Therefore, the system design must aim at minimizing factors that may contribute to instability while satisfying the specified requirements. Modeling and simulation (M&S) techniques are typically used to achieve efficient design, offering advantages such as the ability to simulate various conditions without constraints, thereby reducing initial development costs and time. Consequently, the performance and accuracy of the M&S program can significantly impact the overall development process. In this study, the method of characteristics (MOC) is used to effectively calculate internal flow in pipes, thereby developing an M&S code with excellent accuracy and performance. The efficiency of the developed in-house code is evaluated by comparing the simulation results with those of a commercial program. Additionally, a water supply experiment is conducted, and the experimental results are compared with the two simulation outcomes for validation. The comparative analysis highlights the superior performance and accuracy of the in-house code over the commercial program, with the in-house code demonstrating an average accuracy improvement of approximately 2% to 3% and with computational performance being approximately 1.7 times faster.