Cryogenic sandwich-type insulation board composed of E-glass/epoxy composite and polymeric foams

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is a clean energy source whose consumption has recently increased greatly due to the failure of a nuclear power plant. LNG is transported with LNG carriers that store LNG at the cryogenic temperature of -163 degrees C. Because the cargo containment system (CCS) of LNG carriers should be operated for more than 40 years at the cryogenic temperature, its reliability against thermal and mechanical loads should be guaranteed without compromising its thermal insulation performance. For reasons of both mechanical and thermal performance, the faces and cores of conventional insulation boards are made of plywood and high-density (110 kg/m(3)) polymeric. In this study, an advanced sandwich-type insulation board composed of E-glass/epoxy composite faces and a low-density polymeric foam core with a composite box configuration was developed to seal a foam blowing gas of low thermal conductivity. The mechanical performance of the advanced sandwich-type insulation board was simulated using the finite element analysis (FEA) software ABAQUS (SIMULIA, USA). The sealing performance of the composite box was also investigated experimentally. Finally, the thermal performance of the advanced sandwich-type insulation board was numerically investigated using thermal conductivity equations. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.