Bladders & Diaphragms

NASA Future X-37 Vehicle

For many applications, a positive expulsion device (PED) such as a bladder or a diaphragm is required to deliver fluid from a tank under specified operational environments. Angeles Crest Engineering Inc (ACEI) designs and develops PED's for spacecraft and aerospace vehicles. ACEI performs experimental investigations of PED characteristics to complement development and design for specific applications.  Empirical information is used to support design and analysis so that both the desired fluid expulsion characteristics and the required cyclic service life of the PED can be achieved. ACEI incorporates experimentally obtained information into the design of PED's so that the likelihood of achieving system performance objectives is maximized within cost constraints.

The elastomeric bladder for a NASA experimental vehicle coolant tank was designed and tested by ACEI. The tank completed its qualification in November 1999. It is scheduled for the first flight in late 2001. An AFE 332 bladder for a launch vehicle reaction control system tank was designed and developed by ACEI in February 2000. The twelve-foot centrifuge was used to perform numerous full-scale fluid expulsion tests at 3.5 g's for this tank. A reaction control system tank for a NASA experimental vehicle is being developed and designed by ACEI. This is an elastomeric bladder tank for use with 90% hydrogen peroxide.

Fluid Expulsion Test of Elastomeric Bladder in 1 g

“If at first the idea is not absurd, then
there is no hope for it” - Albert Einstein