EFFECT OF BAFFLES ON SLOSHING MODULATED FORCES AND TORQUES DISTURBANCES REACTED TO GRAVITY GRADIENT DOMINATED ACCELERATIONS

The behavior of sloshing dynamics modulated fluid systems driven by th e orbital accelerations including gravity gradient and jitter accelera tions have been studied. Partially liquid-filled rotating dewar applic able to a full-scale Gravity Probe-B Spacecraft container with and wit hout baffle are considered. Results show that slosh waves excited alon g the liquid-vapor interface induced by gravity gradient dominated orb ital accelerations provide torsional moment with tidal motion of bubbl e oscillations in the rotating dewar. Fluctuations of slosh reaction f orces and torques exerted on the dewar wall driven by the orbital acce lerations are also investigated. Since the viscous force between a liq uid-solid interface, and the surface tension force between a liquid-va por-solid interface can greatly contribute to the damping effect of sl osh wave excitation, a rotating dewar with baffle provides more areas of liquid-solid and liquid-vapor-solid interfaces than that of rotatin g dewar without the baffle. Results show that the damping effect provi ded by baffle reduces the amplitudes of slosh reactions forces and tor ques feedback from the fluids to the container, in particular, the com ponents of fluctuations transverse to the direction of baffle.