Structural Design and Thermal Insulation Performance Simulation of Vapor-Cooled Shields for Liquid Hydrogen Storage Tank

To provide accurate design guidance for multilayer insulation (MLI) combined with vapor-cooled shield (VCS) structures in liquid hydrogen storage tanks, a three-dimensional steady-state MLI/VCS model was established. The temperature distribution within the VCS was analyzed for parallel and spiral arrangements. The effects of VCS tube diameter, number/length, radiation shield thickness, and vapor mass flow rate on the thermal insulation performance of the tank were systematically investigated. Comparative analysis of the thermal insulation performances of the two arrangements was conducted. The results show that for the parallel arrangement, increasing the tube diameter, number of tubes, and mass flow rate improved the insulation performance of the tank. For the spiral arrangement, increasing the tube diameter and flow rate achieved the same effects as those observed for the parallel arrangement. However, the effect of tube length on insulation performance depends on the vapor mass flow rate. Radiation shield thickness had a minor impact on insulation performance. The relative superiority of the two VCS pipe configurations in terms of insulation performance is influenced by the venting vapor mass flow rate. An appropriate VCS pipe arrangement should be selected for practical engineering applications, based on the venting method and capacity.