Establishment and Analysis of a General Mass Model for Solenoid Valves Used in Space Propulsion Systems

The solenoid valve component is the core part affecting the total mass of space propulsion system, and the accuracy of the solenoid valve mass model directly impacts the accuracy of the system mass estimation and optimization design. This study focuses on the solenoid valves used in gas path control for cold gas propulsion systems. The relationship between the gas flow rate and volume flow rate of the solenoid valve is derived. By analyzing the parameters affecting the mass of the solenoid valves, a general calculation mass model of the gas solenoid valve used in cold gas propulsion is proposed based on strength theory. Combining with the existing general calculation mass model for liquid solenoid valves and collecting mass data of 16 gas solenoid valves and 33 liquid solenoid valves used in space propulsion system, the mass calculation formulas of the gas and liquid solenoid valves are obtained by employing several mathematical fitting methods, including quadratic polynomial surface, Manski formula, bivariate power function, and pressure-corrected polynomial. The accuracy of different mass model formulas is compared to assess their performance in calculating the solenoid valve mass. The results show that the quadratic surface formula can better reflect the relationship between the mass of the gas solenoid valves and the valve parameters within the medium volume flow range of 1 × 10⁻⁹ to 3.9 × 10⁻³ m³/s and the proof pressure range of 0.4 to 49.74 MPa. For the calculation of liquid solenoid valve mass, the accuracy of quadratic polynomial surface fitting, bivariate power function equation, and univariate polynomial equation with pressure correction is comparable within the liquid volume flow range of 1.8 × 10⁻⁷ to 1.28 × 10⁻⁴ m³/s and the inlet pressure range of 0.99 to 4.24 MPa; the appropriate calculation formula can be selected based on the pressure conditions in the liquid solenoid valve chamber in practical applications. Sensitivity analysis shows a consistent trend for gas and liquid solenoid valves: proof pressure (gas valves) or inlet working pressure (liquid valves) are the dominant factors affecting valve mass, while volume flow rate has a moderate impact. The proposed solenoid valve mass model in this study can be used to calculate the mass of gas solenoid valves for space cold gas propulsion systems and liquid solenoid valves for liquid rocket thrusters with thrust below 1000 N, providing an important reference for the mass modeling and optimization design of the space propulsion systems.