0409 Basic Characteristics of Subcooled Liquid Oxygen Cavitating Flow

Cryogenic rocket propellants are easily densified by subcooling. However, cavitation in densified propellants can vary greatly from that in normal propellants because of the strong dependence of thermophysical properties on the fluid temperature, which can cause various problems in the propellant supply system of a rocket. Although many researches on the development of densification systems of rocket propellants have been carried out, characteristics on cavitation in densified rocket propellants have not yet been clarified. An experimental investigation of cavitating flows at an orifice nozzle was carried out in order to clarify the characteristics of cavitation in subcooled liquid oxygen. Comparison between influences of an orifice diameter ant a pressurized gas based on the thermodynamic parameter Σ^*, showed that the B-factor (dimensionless temperature depression) in the downstream of the orifice depends strongly on the pressurized gas (O_2, N_2 and He).