Structural design of flexible vacuum insulation system for large-scale LH2 storage.

This study describes a new vacuum insulation system, consisting of a flexible vacuum membrane and a load-transferring insulation layer comprising polyurethane foam (PUF), for large-scale LH 2 storage tanks. The vacuum membrane has a novel corrugated geometry to accommodate in-plane displacements induced by the thermal contraction of the inner tank, whereas the PUF layer transfers the external pressure load acting on the outer membrane onto the inner tank. To demonstrate and validate the overall performance of the proposed vacuum insulation system during extreme cooling at − 253 °C , it is applied to a 12,500-m3-LH 2 tank of the "lattice pressure vessel" type. Geometrically non-linear elastic–plastic analysis results show that the vacuum membrane deforms elastically under normal operating conditions of 1 atm pressure and 3 mm/m contraction displacement. The membrane is capable of withstanding harsh conditions, where both the pressure and displacement loads increase significantly. • A new vacuum insulation system for large-scale LH 2 storage tanks is proposed. • Main components of the system are presented and their structural functions are defined. • Theoretical background of the flexible vacuum membrane is presented. • The proposed vacuum insulation system is applied to a 12,500-m3 LH 2 tank to validate the structural capability of the system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]