Design of Insulation for Liquid Hydrogen Storage Tank Using Heat Transfer Analysis

Liquid hydrogen (LH2) attracts widespread attention because of its highest energy storage density. However, evaporation loss is a serious problem in LH2 storage owing to the low boiling point (– 253 degrees C). Efficient insulation technology is an important issue in the study of LH2 storage. This paper presents a novel cryogenic insulation system consisting of multilayer insulation (MLI) and a self-evaporating vapor-cooled radiation shield (VCS) for storage of LH2. A thermodynamic model was established to analyze the coupled heat transfer characteristics of MLI and VCS in the insulation system and the effect of VCS on insulation performance. Transient heat transfer analyses of four insulation structures (One layer insulation, MLI-VCS, MLI 1-VCS-MLI 2, and MLI 1-VCS 1-MLI 2-VCS 2-MLI 3) were performed. Temperature and heat flux were quantitatively analyzed. Design strategies for MLI and VCS are explained to obtain better insulation