Method of operating a cryogenic liquid gas storage tank
AssigneeGeneral Motors Corporation
InventorRainer Immel
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present invention teaches methods of operating a pressurized cryogenic liquid gas storage tank that has a vent cooling shield around which fuel vented from a storage tank flows to cool the storage tank by reducing the influence of heat influx into the storage tank. The method of the present invention provides for reduction in the quantity of fuel loss during the venting operation and allows a greater volume of liquid fuel to be stored in the storage tank. The method includes allowing fuel in a storage tank to transition between a two-phase state of liquid and gas into a single-phase state of liquid and back into a two-phase state of liquid and gas. Additionally, the present invention allows filling a storage tank to a liquid level greater than about 95% of the capacity of the storage tank.
Claims25
A method of operating a system which comprises a pressurized cryogenic storage tank that stores a gaseous fuel in liquid form and inhibits heat influx into the stored fuel and which comprises an apparatus that consumes fuel from the storage tank, the method comprising:
- (a) storing the fuel in the storage tank in a first two-phase gas and liquid state and inhibiting heat influx into the stored fuel;
- (b) transitioning the fuel in the storage tank from said first two-phase state to a single-phase liquid state by heat influx leaking into the storage tank;
- and
- (c) transitioning the fuel in the storage tank from said single-phase liquid state to a second two-phase gas and liquid state.
A method of operating a system which comprises a pressurized cryogenic storage tank for storing hydrogen in liquid form and which has a vent cooling shield and which comprises an apparatus that consumes hydrogen from the storage tank, the method comprising:
- (a) adding hydrogen to the storage tank so that the storage tank is filled with hydrogen in a first two-phase gas and liquid state with a liquid level greater than about 95% of a capacity of the storage tank;
- (b) transitioning the fuel in the storage tank from the first two-phase gas and liquid state to a first single-phase liquid state while maintaining a quantity of hydrogen in the storage tank constant;
- and
- (c) transitioning the fuel in the storage tank from the first single-phase liquid state to a second two-phase gas and liquid state.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.