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A numerical transient thermomechanical modeling of the metal-polyamide internal supports for cryogenic vessels

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Abstract

Safe storage and transportation of liquid oxygen (LOX) are critical for many engineering, medical, and defense applications. Double-walled, vacuum-insulated cryogenic tanks are commonly used, but they require supports that minimize heat transfer while bearing mechanical stresses. This study examines a novel polyamide-steel composite support for cryogenic tanks using COMSOL simulations. The significance lies in improving storage by reducing heat flux to LOX. The study also evaluates the effects of dynamic loading, resulting from mechanical shocks three times larger than the mass of the inner shell carrying LOX, applied to the ends of the internal supports. The significant contributions of this research lie in two main areas. Firstly, the study demonstrates the advantages of the new support design, particularly its enhanced ability to minimize heat transfer from the external environment to the cryogenic tank, thereby contributing to improved temperature control and safety. Secondly, the developed composite supports exhibit superior heat transfer characteristics, displaying efficiency in both static and dynamic loading conditions. Results demonstrated that the composite support reduced heat transfer compared to conventional designs under static and dynamic loads. This new support design enables safer LOX storage by limiting temperature increases. The coupled thermal–mechanical modeling methodology provides an effective tool for optimizing support designs in cryogenic systems.

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Abbreviations

\(d\) :

Internal vessel diameter (m)

\({R}_{\mathrm{k}}\) :

Inside knuckle radius (m)

\({R}_{\mathrm{c}}\) :

Inside crown radius (m)

\(z\) :

Inside dish depth (m)

\({L}^{0}\) :

Tan-tan length (m)

\({V}_{\mathrm{c}}\) :

Volume of semielliptical head (\({\mathrm{m}}^{3}\))

\({V}_{\mathrm{s}}\) :

Volume of the cylindrical shell (\({\mathrm{m}}^{3}\))

\(E\) :

Modulus of elasticity (Pa)

\(\mathrm{\vartheta }\) :

Poisson ratio

\({S}_{\mathrm{a}}\) :

Allowable stress (Pa)

\(k\) :

Thermal conductivity (W m−1 K−1)

\({q}_{\mathrm{conv}}\) :

Convection heat transfer rate (W)

\({T}_{\infty 1}\) :

LOX temperature (\(\mathrm{K}\))

\({T}_{\infty 2}\) :

Ambient temperature (\(\mathrm{K}\))

\({h}_{1}\) :

Convective heat transfer coefficient OF LOX (\( {\text{W}}\;{\text{m}}^{{ - 2}} {\text{K}}^{{ - 1}} \))

\({h}_{2}\) :

Convective heat transfer coefficient OF Ambient (\( {\text{W}}\;{\text{m}}^{{ - 2}} {\text{K}}^{{ - 1}} \))

\(p\) :

Internal pressure (Pa)

\(L\) :

Length of the inner shell (m)

\(t\) :

Wall thickness of inner vessel (m)

\({t}_{\mathrm{h}}\) :

Wall thickness of inner semielliptical head (m)

\(\rho \) :

Mass density (kg m-3)

\({q}_{\mathrm{cond}}\) :

Conductive heat flux (\( {\text{W}}\;{\text{m}}^{{ - 2}} \))

\({e}_{\mathrm{w}}\) :

Weld efficiency

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Northern Research Center for Science and Technology, Malek Ashtar University of Technology, Tehran, Iran

    M. Ghadimi & M. M. Barzegari

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Ghadimi, M., Barzegari, M.M. A numerical transient thermomechanical modeling of the metal-polyamide internal supports for cryogenic vessels. J Therm Anal Calorim 148, 11917–11927 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-023-12469-7

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