Modeling the Effect of Phase Change on LNG Impact With Open-Source CFD

Abstract

The phenomenology of loads due to sloshing impact on tanks, such as those in Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) carriers, is a problem that is currently far from being fully assessed. A main particularity of LNG, among others (such as compressibility or hydroelasticity) is that it is carried at cryogenic temperatures, normally at liquid-vapor equilibrium. This implies phase changes may occur during sloshing impacts. However, phase change phenomena have normally been neglected in sloshing studies. Preliminary works from Behruzi et al. [1] and Ancellin et al. [2] show that phase change may have an effect on the maximum pressure load. The current work aims to study phase change phenomenology in pressure impact events at cryogenic conditions by implementing a phase change model in the open-source tool Open-FOAM. Results will be compared against previous work by the authors (Calderon-Sanchez et al. [3]), which did not feature phase change.