Destruction of Cryogenic Pressure Vessel and Piping by Shock Wave

Abstract

In recent years, the usage of cryogenic fluids as coolant are gaining more attention due to their capability to fulfill the requirements of today’s advancing low temperature industrial applications. As a result, the use of a cryogenic pressure vessel and piping in LNG-tank, LN2, O2 tank for food processing applications and medical applications are becoming more important. In a cryogenic pressure vessel and piping, the reduction of thermal insulation by a small initial damage leads to an internal pressure rise and occurrence of flashing, which leads to a secondary crush of the vessel. In this study, a shock wave was applied to a pressure vessel and piping filled with cryogenic fluid and various observations were made. The internal pressure time history was measured and the safety of the cryogenic pressure vessel and piping was considered.