Vapor cooled shielding liner for cryogenic storage in composite pressure vessels
AssigneeWashington State University
InventorsJacob William Leachman, Patrick Marshall Adam
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Abstract
A novel tank cryogenic-compatible composite pressure vessel that beneficially utilizes Vapor Cooled Shielding (VCS) is introduced to minimize thermal gradients along support structures and reduces heat loads on cryogenic systems. In particular, the configurations and mechanisms to be utilized herein include: providing for a desired number of passageways and a given thickness of the VCS, reducing the thermal conductivity of the VCS material, and increasing the cooling capacitance of the hydrogen vapors.
Claims18
A storage device for storing cryogenic fluids,
- comprising:
- a vessel that surrounds and encloses a storage volume configured to contain a cryogenic fluid;
- and
- a wall of the vessel having a thickness dimension extending from an outside of the wall to an inside of the wall, the wall having integrally formed within the thickness dimension a plurality of channels, wherein at least one of the plurality of channels is in fluid communication with the storage volume to receive vapors boiled off the cryogenic fluid and one of the plurality channels is in fluid communication with an outlet to permit the vapors to exit the outlet, and wherein the plurality of channels surround the storage volume, and wherein at least some of the plurality of channels are formed at relatively different depths in the thickness dimension of the wall so that the vapors boiled off the cryogenic fluid form a plurality of insulating vapor layers at the relatively different depths in the thickness dimension of the wall that absorb heat from a source,
- wherein one or more of the plurality of channels include a catalyst therein which produces a catalyzed vapor from the vapors boiled off from the cryogenic fluid, and
- wherein the catalyst is a para to ortho catalyst to convert para-hydrogen to ortho-hydrogen.
A vapor cooled cryogenic pressure vessel liner for storing fluids, comprising:
- a storage volume defined by the liner and configured to contain a cryogenic fluid;
- a primary passageway integrally formed in the liner configured as one or more primary channels surrounding the storage volume, wherein at least one of the one or more primary channels is configured to form a catalyzed vapor from boiled off vapors of the cryogenic fluid;
- and
- one or more secondary passageways integrally formed in the liner, each of which are additionally configured as one or more secondary channels surrounding both the storage volume and the primary passageway;
- a catalyst in the one or more primary channels or the one or more secondary channels which produces a catalyzed vapor from vapors boiled off from the cryogenic fluid, wherein the catalyst is a para to ortho catalyst to convert para-hydrogen to ortho-hydrogen,
- wherein the one or more primary channels in combination with the one or more secondary channels collectively receive catalyzed vapor therethrough so as to provide for a configured plurality of insulating vapor layers that absorb heat from a source.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.