Theoretical and Experimental Comparisons of the Self-pressurization in a Cryogenic Storage Tank for IOT Application

Abstract

The application of satellite technology in the Internet of Things (IOT) can just make up for the defects of the ground system for its wide coverage and anti-damage. More and more satellites will participate in IOT. Due to the environmental protection exhaust and high specific impulse of cryogenic propellants like liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, they will play an important role in satellite applications. Cryogenic liquid storage is difficult and self-pressurization phenomenon often occurs. Pressure rise prediction with high accurate is necessary when designing tank for storage. Numerical calculation of computational fluid dynamic model and experiments are always time and financial consuming. A theoretical thermal diffusion model is investigated in the paper by using a concentration parameter model in the vapor and a one-dimensional heat conduction model in the liquid. The validation of the predictive capability is conducted by comparing the predictions with experimental data. Favorable agreement is found for both the experimental cylindrical and oblate spheroidal tanks. The effect of fill level and tank size is also studied.