Controllable fluid damper for fluid-containing tank

摘要

A controllable fluid damper 14 for a fluid-containing tank 10 in a space vehicle comprising a hollow sphere 14. The wall of the sphere 14 is a honeycomb structure of six-sided cells 24 arranged with respect to the sphere 14 so that the open ends of the cells 24 lie along the radii of the sphere 14. The flat sides of the cells 24 contain small holes 26 which present some resistance to the flow of fluid therethrough. The outer surface of the sphere 14 lies adjacent the inner surface of the tank wall 12. A number of spaced brake pads are located in the tank wall 12 so that the surfaces of the pads are co-planar with the inner surface of the tank wall 12. One of the brake pads, 16, is radially movable in the inward direction; the remainder, 18, are fixed in position. The sphere 10 can rotate with the fluid when a maneuver of the vehicle is started and, then, rotation of the damper 14 can be arrested by moving the movable brake pad 16 into pressure contact with the outer surface of the damper 14. The pressure also forces the surface of the damper 14 into contact with the fixed brake pads 18.