Enhancing thermal performance of liquid hydrogen storage tanks during no-vent filling: Research study on insulation and ambient temperature effects

A B S T R A C TIn order to study the thermal performance of liquid hydrogen tanks during the no-vent filling process under different ambient temperature conditions, a two-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model for no-vent filling of liquid hydrogen tanks was established. The Lee model was adopted to describe the phase transition phenomenon when liquid hydrogen was filled, and the grid independence verification and model validity verification were carried out. Pressure, temperature, liquid fraction, and heat leakage changes in liquid hydrogen tanks were investigated under varying insulation thicknesses and ambient temperatures during no-vent filling. Results demonstrate that pressure evolution within the liquid hydrogen tank during no-vent filling progresses through three distinct phases: a rapid initial rise, followed by gradual intermediate growth, culminating in a steep final surge. When the thickness of the insulation layer is consistent, as the ambient temperature rises, the pressure, temperature and heat leakage inside the tank increase accordingly, while the volume fraction of liquid hydrogen decreases. When the ambient temperature is the same, as the thickness of the insulation layer increases, the heat transferred to the interior of the tank decreases accordingly. However, when the thickness of the insulation layer is 150 mm, further increasing the thickness of the insulation layer does not significantly improve its insulation effect. Furthermore, incorporation of a vapor-cooled shield (VCS) into the tank reduces heat leakage by 14.25%, 14.58%, and 15.34% during liquid hydrogen filling at ambient temperatures of 263 K, 273 K, and 300 K, respectively.