Design and evaluation of the thermal capability to secure a working time of cryogenic explosion-proof camera in LNG carrier tank

Abstract

With an increase in the usage of LNG, there is a heightened interest about its safety aspects regarding the explosion of LNG carrier tank. The need for a cryogenic explosion-proof camera has increased. The camera has to work in cryogenic environment (below −160 °C) in LNG carrier. This study conducted design and heat transfer analysis of cryogenic camera to secure working time in limitation of heat source. The design with gap width of double pane windows was conducted based on simple vertical cavity model to insulate from cryogenic environment. The optimal gap width was 12.5 mm. For effective analysis considering convection within the camera, equivalent thermal conductivity method was adopted with ABAQUS. The working time of the camera predicted was over 10 h at warm-start condition. In cold-start condition, it required about 5 h of pre-warming time to work. The results of analysis were compared with the ones of the actual cryogenic test.