Numerical modeling of propellant boil-off in a cryogenic storage tank
Abstract
A numerical model to predict boil-off of stored propellant in large spherical cryogenic tanks has been developed. Accurate prediction of tank boil-off rates for different thermal insulation systems was the goal of this collaborative effort. The Generalized Fluid System Simulation Program, which integrates flow analysis and conjugate heat transfer for solving complex fluid system problems, was used to create the model. Calculation of tank boil-off rate requires simultaneous simulation of heat transfer processes among liquid propellant, vapor ullage space, and tank structure. The reference tank for the boil-off model was the 850,000 gallon liquid hydrogen tank at Launch Complex 39B (LC-39B) at Kennedy Space Center, which is under study for future infrastructure improvements to support the Constellation program. The methodology employed in the numerical model was validated using a sub-scale model and tank. Experimental test data from a 1/15th scale version of the LC-39B tank using both liquid hydrogen and liquid nitrogen were used to anchor the analytical predictions of the sub-scale model. Favorable correlations between sub-scale model and experimental test data have provided confidence in full-scale tank boil-off predictions. These methods are now being used in the preliminary design for other cases including future launch vehicles.
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Glass bubbles do not break under crush, vibration, and settling tests.
“The conclusions were consistent across all tests: bubbles are better; bubbles do not compact; bubbles do not break; bubbles are easy to manage.”
From Energy efficient large-scale storage of liquid hydrogen (2022) · cites this paper as [16]
Glass bubbles do not compact under crush, vibration, and settling tests.
“The conclusions were consistent across all tests: bubbles are better; bubbles do not compact; bubbles do not break; bubbles are easy to manage.”
From Energy efficient large-scale storage of liquid hydrogen (2022) · cites this paper as [16]
The glass bubbles system was determined to perform reliably in annular space applications including large-scale spheres.
“Based on 15 years of research, testing, and development by a national team led by the Cryogenics Test Laboratory, this glass bubble system was determined to perform reliably in annular space applications including large-scale spheres.”
From Energy efficient large-scale storage of liquid hydrogen (2022) · cites this paper as [16]
Currently, the space industry is an important user of LH2, with long duration storage of cryogenic hydrogen being essential in orbital transfer vehicles, the upper stages of rockets, and deep space exploration probes.
“Currently, the space industry is an important user of LH 2 , with long duration storage of cryogenic hydrogen being essential in orbital transfer vehicles, the upper stages of rockets, and deep space exploration probes [29][30][31][32][33][34].”
From Modelling of Liquid Hydrogen Boil-Off (2022) · cites this paper as [30]
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Modelling of Liquid Hydrogen Boil-Off
Al Ghafri, S. Z. S., Swanger, A., Jusko, V., Siahvashi, A., Perez, F., Johns, M. L., & May, E. F. (2022) · Energies · doi:10.3390/en15031149 · Cited by 131 · see citing works
Energy efficient large-scale storage of liquid hydrogen
Fesmire, J., Swanger, A., Jacobson, J., & Notardonato, W. (2022) · IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering · doi:10.1088/1757-899x/1240/1/012088 · Cited by 59 · see citing works
Self-citation
- Authors
- Majumdar, A. K., Steadman, T. E., Maroney, J. L., Sass, J. P., Fesmire, J. E., Weisend, J. G., Barclay, J., Breon, S., Demko, J., DiPirro, M., Kelley, J. P., Kittel, P., Klebaner, A., Zeller, A., Zagarola, M., Van Sciver, S., Rowe, A., Pfotenhauer, J., Peterson, T., & Lock, J.
- Affiliations
- Marshall Space Flight Center (US)
- ORCID
- Majumdar, A. K.
- Venue
- AIP Conference Proceedings
- Publisher
- AIP
- Published
- 2008
- Volume
- 985
- Pages
- 1507-1514
- ISSN
- 0094-243X (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W815177515
- Cited by
- 2
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2019: 1 · 2016: 1
- FWCI
- 0.00
- Type
- conference paper
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- AIP conference proceedings (publishedVersion)
- NASA Technical Reports Server (NASA)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Aerospace Engineering › Spacecraft and Cryogenic Technologies
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Computational Mechanics › Heat transfer and supercritical fluids
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Aerospace Engineering › Nuclear Engineering Thermal-Hydraulics
- Keywords
- propellant boil-off, cryogenic storage tanks, liquid hydrogen, liquid nitrogen, thermal insulation systems, conjugate heat transfer, Constellation Program
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