Final test results for the ground operations demonstration unit for liquid hydrogen
Open accessAbstract
Described herein is a comprehensive project-a large-scale test of an integrated refrigeration and storage system called the Ground Operations and Demonstration Unit for Liquid Hydrogen (GODU LH2), sponsored by the Advanced Exploration Systems Program and constructed at Kennedy Space Center. A commercial cryogenic refrigerator interfaced with a 125,000 liter liquid hydrogen tank and auxiliary systems in a manner that enabled control of the propellant state by extracting heat via a closed loop Brayton cycle refrigerator coupled to a novel internal heat exchanger. Three primary objectives were demonstrating zero-loss storage and transfer, gaseous liquefaction, and propellant densification. Testing was performed at three different liquid hydrogen fill-levels. Data were collected on tank pressure, internal tank temperature profiles, mass flow in and out of the system, and refrigeration system performance. All test objectives were successfully achieved during approximately two years of testing. A summary of the final results is presented in this paper.
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Economic analysis showed that for every dollar spent on electricity to power the IRAS system, seven dollars in LH2 could be saved.
“Following demonstration testing of a 125 m 3 IRAS system at KSC in 2015-16, economic analysis showed that for every dollar spent on electricity to power the system, seven dollars in LH2 could be saved [13].”
From Energy efficient large-scale storage of liquid hydrogen (2022) · cites this paper as [13]
The Introduction and Section 2 describe the 2015–16 testing of a 125 m³ IRAS system, and Section 4.1 says zero-loss chilldown allows more economical operation. Our copy does not report an economic analysis or the claimed seven dollars of LH2 saved per dollar of electricity; searches for the ratio and electricity costs found no such passage. (LLM, conf=0.85)
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- Authors
- Notardonato, W. U., Swanger, A. M., Fesmire, J. E., Jumper, K. M., Johnson, W. L., & Tomsik, T. M.
- Affiliations
- Kennedy Space Center (US)
- Glenn Research Center (US)
- Corresponding author
- Notardonato, W.U.
- Venue
- Cryogenics
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2017-12
- Volume
- 88
- Pages
- 147-155
- ISSN
- 0011-2275 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC7271670
- OpenAlex
- W2766927291
- Cited by
- 28
- References
- 6
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 2
- FWCI
- 1.51
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Cryogenics (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- NASA STI Repository (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Aerospace Engineering › Spacecraft and Cryogenic Technologies
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Aerospace Engineering › Rocket and propulsion systems research
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Computational Mechanics › Heat transfer and supercritical fluids
- Keywords
- liquid hydrogen, cryogenic refrigeration, cryogenic storage tanks, internal heat exchanger, propellant transfer, Advanced Exploration Systems, Kennedy Space Center
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