A stacked adiabatic liquid hydrogen spherical tank

Abstract

This invention discloses a stacked insulated liquid hydrogen spherical tank, comprising a liquid hydrogen spherical tank and a support installed at its bottom. The liquid hydrogen spherical tank includes an outer wall and an inner wall. This invention incorporates longitudinal and transverse porous partitions to effectively address the void problem caused by small-scale shrinkage of the expanded perlite packing, while simultaneously increasing the overall structural strength and resolving the pressure rise issue during the expansion of the expanded perlite packing. A packing replenishment cavity is provided at the top of the longitudinal partition zone. Since the expanded perlite packing can pass through the transverse porous partitions, the packing inside the replenishment cavity will replenish the packing during significant shrinkage, preventing the formation of significant voids and leakage points at the top of the liquid hydrogen spherical tank. A gas freezer and an internally cooled adsorber are incorporated. The cooling gradient of the low-temperature hydrogen gas drives the gas freezer to freeze and the internally cooled adsorber to adsorb gases affecting the insulation performance, extending the vacuum maintenance time inside the liquid hydrogen spherical tank.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of liquid hydrogen technology, and more particularly to a stacked, insulated liquid hydrogen spherical tank. Background Art

[0002] With the proposal and implementation of dual-carbon goals, the large-scale application of hydrogen energy has received unprecedented attention in China. The national "14th Five-Year Plan," the 2035 Vision Plan, and various provinces and cities have successively proposed relevant paths and goals to vigorously promote the development of hydrogen energy. Liquid hydrogen has advantages such as high hydrogen storage density, economical and convenient storage and transportation, and high purity of gas after vaporization, making it an irreplaceable and important carrier form for hydrogen energy applications. Hydrogen has an extremely low boiling point (20.37 K) and a large temperature difference with the environment, making the cold insulation system the biggest challenge in the design of liquid hydrogen storage equipment. Because the energy consumption during hydrogen liquefaction is extremely high, and the explosion limit of the gas after liquid hydrogen evaporation is low, a reliable cold insulation system is crucial to ensuring the economy and safety of liquid hydrogen storage equipment.

[0003] It is generally believed that the heat leakage of a storage tank is directly proportional to the specific surface area of ​​the container. Geometrically, a sphere has the smallest specific surface area among all storage container shapes, and it also has advantages such as uniform stress distribution and good mechanical strength. Therefore, large liquid hydrogen storage tanks are basically spherical. Currently, in medium and large-sized cryogenic storage tanks, expanded perlite is often used as the insulation material for the inner and outer tank layers. This is a porous, lightweight granular material with low thermal conductivity and stable chemical properties.

[0004] When the inner tank receives cryogenic liquid hydrogen, it will contract inward. The expanded perlite in the annular space between the inner and outer tanks will sink downward to fill the gaps left by the tank displacement. This will cause the loss of the insulation material in the upper part of the annular space, which will then create voids and form hot spots.

[0005] Meanwhile, the increased density of expanded perlite also increases the external pressure on the inner tank wall. When the inner tank expands outward due to the increase in temperature, this external pressure will further increase, which may cause the inner tank wall to become unstable due to the inability to withstand the external pressure. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The purpose of this invention is to address the shortcomings of existing technologies by proposing a stacked, insulated liquid hydrogen spherical tank. This tank incorporates longitudinal and transverse porous partitions to separate the expanded perlite packing material. A packing replenishment cavity is also designed. These combined effects effectively solve the problems of top leakage hotspots caused by the low-temperature shrinkage of the expanded perlite and pressure rise during heating. Furthermore, low-temperature hydrogen is used to freeze the gas generated by the packing material and cool the adsorbent, enhancing the adsorption effect and extending the vacuum maintenance time inside the liquid hydrogen spherical tank.

[0007] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention adopts the following technical solution:

[0008] A stacked insulated liquid hydrogen spherical tank includes a liquid hydrogen spherical tank and a support installed at its bottom. The liquid hydrogen spherical tank includes an outer wall and an inner wall. The outer wall and the inner wall are divided into multiple longitudinal partitions by several longitudinal partitions. A packing replenishment cavity is provided at the top of the longitudinal partitions. The longitudinal partitions are filled with expanded perlite packing. A liquid hydrogen filling pipeline and a hydrogen discharge pipeline are respectively connected to the top of the liquid hydrogen spherical tank. The ends of the hydrogen discharge pipelines merge after passing through the packing replenishment cavity. A cooling structure is provided on the packing replenishment cavity.

[0009] Preferably, the filling chamber includes a filling chamber vacuum cover and a filling chamber inner wall, a vacuuming structure is provided between the filling chamber vacuum cover and the filling chamber inner wall, the filling chamber inner wall is filled with expanded perlite filler, the filling chamber vacuum cover is connected to the outer wall of the liquid hydrogen spherical tank through a fiberglass connector, and the interior of the filling chamber inner wall is filled with expanded perlite.

[0010] Preferably, the cooling structure includes a gas freezer and an internally cooled adsorber. The inlets of the gas freezer and the internally cooled adsorber for low-temperature hydrogen are installed outside the inner wall of the packing replenishment chamber, while the remaining parts are located inside the inner wall of the packing replenishment chamber. The hydrogen discharge pipeline is connected to the gas freezer and the internally cooled adsorber in sequence along the airflow direction.

[0011] Preferably, the longitudinal partition is provided with multiple layers of transverse porous partition plates from top to bottom, and the inner wall of the packing replenishment cavity is also connected to the inner wall of the liquid hydrogen spherical tank through transverse porous partition plates, dividing the entire longitudinal partition into multiple spaces.

[0012] Preferably, the vacuuming structure includes a vacuuming pipeline, the front end of which is divided into two branches. The first branch is located between the vacuum cover of the packing replenishment chamber and the inner wall of the packing replenishment chamber, and the second branch is located between the outer wall of the liquid hydrogen spherical tank and the inner wall of the liquid hydrogen spherical tank. The rear end is connected to a vacuuming valve.

[0013] Preferably, the ends of the liquid hydrogen filling pipeline and the hydrogen discharge pipeline are respectively equipped with a liquid hydrogen filling valve and a hydrogen discharge valve.

[0014] Compared with existing technologies, the beneficial effects of this invention are as follows: This invention uses longitudinal partitions to achieve longitudinal separation of the expanded perlite packing, and transverse porous partitions to divide the overall packing area into multiple small units. This effectively solves the problem of voids in the expanded perlite packing during small-scale shrinkage, without affecting the overall thermal insulation performance, while increasing the overall structural strength and solving the problem of pressure rise when the expanded perlite packing expands due to temperature increases. A packing replenishment cavity is provided at the top of the longitudinal partition area. Since the expanded perlite packing can pass through the transverse porous partitions, the packing inside the replenishment cavity will replenish the packing during significant shrinkage, preventing obvious voids and leaks at the top of the liquid hydrogen spherical tank. A gas freezer and an internally cooled adsorber are incorporated. The cooling gradient of the low-temperature hydrogen drives the gas freezer to freeze and the internally cooled adsorber to adsorb gases that affect the thermal insulation performance, extending the vacuum maintenance time inside the liquid hydrogen spherical tank. Attached Figure Description

[0015] To illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art more specifically and intuitively, the accompanying drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below.

[0016] Figure 1 This invention provides a schematic diagram of the structure of a stacked adiabatic liquid hydrogen spherical tank;

[0017] Figure 2 This is a schematic cross-sectional view of the longitudinally partitioned section in a liquid hydrogen spherical tank.

[0018] In the diagram: 1. Liquid hydrogen spherical tank; 2. Support; 3. Longitudinal partition plate; 4. Longitudinal partition area; 5. Packing replenishment chamber; 6. Hydrogen emission pipeline; 7. Hydrogen emission valve; 8. Liquid hydrogen filling pipeline; 9. Liquid hydrogen filling valve; 10. Outer wall of liquid hydrogen spherical tank; 11. Inner wall of liquid hydrogen spherical tank; 12. Transverse porous partition plate; 13. Expanded perlite packing; 14. Vacuum cover of packing replenishment chamber; 15. Fiberglass connector; 16. Inner wall of packing replenishment chamber; 17. Gas refrigerator; 18. Internally cooled adsorber; 19. Evacuation pipeline; 20. Evacuation valve. Detailed Implementation

[0019] The technical solutions of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings of the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments.

[0020] Reference Figure 1-2A stacked insulated liquid hydrogen spherical tank includes a liquid hydrogen spherical tank 1 and a support 2 installed at its bottom. The support 2 is installed at the bottom of the liquid hydrogen spherical tank 1 to ensure the stability of the liquid hydrogen spherical tank. The liquid hydrogen spherical tank 1 includes an outer wall 10 and an inner wall 11. The outer wall 10 and the inner wall 11 are divided into multiple longitudinal partition zones 4 by several longitudinal partition plates 3. A packing replenishment cavity 5 is provided at the top of the longitudinal partition zone 4. The longitudinal partition zone 4 is filled with expanded perlite packing 13. The top of the liquid hydrogen spherical tank 1 is connected to a liquid hydrogen filling pipeline 8 and a hydrogen discharge pipeline 6. The ends of the hydrogen discharge pipeline 6 are connected after passing through the packing replenishment cavity 5. A cooling structure is provided on the packing replenishment cavity 5.

[0021] One end of the hydrogen discharge pipeline 6 is installed on the top of the liquid hydrogen spherical tank 1, and then it is divided into multiple branches. Each branch cools the corresponding packing replenishment chamber 5, and then they are merged and discharged through the hydrogen discharge valve 7.

[0022] The liquid hydrogen filling pipeline 8 is connected in sequence to the liquid hydrogen filling valve 9 and the liquid hydrogen spherical tank 1, and the external liquid hydrogen medium is filled into the liquid hydrogen spherical tank 1.

[0023] In this embodiment, the filling chamber 5 includes a filling chamber vacuum cover 14 and a filling chamber inner wall 16. A vacuuming structure is provided between the filling chamber vacuum cover 14 and the filling chamber inner wall 16. The filling chamber inner wall 16 is filled with expanded perlite filler 13. The filling chamber vacuum cover 14 is connected to the outer wall 10 of the liquid hydrogen sphere tank through a fiberglass connector 15. The filling chamber inner wall 16 is filled with expanded perlite.

[0024] Each longitudinal partition 4 is provided with a filler replenishment cavity 5 at the top, which is used to replenish expanded perlite when the filler cools and shrinks, and to prevent voids and leaks at the top.

[0025] The filling chamber 5 consists of a filling chamber vacuum cover 14 and a filling chamber inner wall 16. A vacuum is drawn between the two. The filling chamber vacuum cover 14 is connected to the outer wall 10 of the liquid hydrogen sphere tank through a low thermal conductivity fiberglass connector 15. The filling chamber inner wall 16 is filled with expanded perlite.

[0026] In this embodiment, the cooling structure includes a gas freezer 17 and an internally cooled adsorber 18. The inlets of the gas freezer 17 and the internally cooled adsorber 18 for low-temperature hydrogen are installed outside the inner wall 16 of the packing replenishment chamber, while the rest are located inside the inner wall 16 of the packing replenishment chamber. The hydrogen exhaust pipeline 6 is connected to the gas freezer 17 and the internally cooled adsorber 18 in sequence along the airflow direction.

[0027] Both the gas freezer 17 and the internally cooled adsorber 18 are installed on the inner wall 16 of the packing replenishment chamber. The inlet for low-temperature hydrogen is only installed outside the inner wall 16 of the packing replenishment chamber, while the rest are located inside the inner wall 16 of the packing replenishment chamber, freezing and adsorbing the vented gas from the insulation material. The low-temperature evaporated hydrogen from the hydrogen discharge pipe 6 first enters the gas channel of the gas freezer 17. After the gas freezer 17 cools down, it freezes the vented gas from the insulation material. Subsequently, the hydrogen heats up and enters the gas channel of the internally cooled adsorber 18, releasing cold energy again to enhance the adsorption capacity of the adsorbent. Finally, the hydrogen is discharged into the air.

[0028] In this embodiment, the longitudinal partition zone 4 is provided with multiple layers of transverse porous partition plates 12 from top to bottom. The inner wall 16 of the packing replenishment cavity is connected to the inner wall 11 of the liquid hydrogen sphere tank through the second transverse porous partition plate, dividing the entire longitudinal partition zone 4 into multiple spaces.

[0029] In the longitudinal partition zone 4, multiple layers of transverse porous partition plates 12 are arranged from top to bottom. The inner wall 16 of the packing replenishment cavity is also connected to the inner wall 11 of the liquid hydrogen spherical tank through multiple layers of transverse porous partition plates 12, dividing the entire longitudinal partition zone 4 into multiple spaces. When the expanded perlite packing shrinks slightly, the multiple layers of transverse porous partition plates 12 will hinder it, without affecting the overall thermal insulation performance. When the expanded perlite packing shrinks significantly, the expanded perlite inside the inner wall 16 of the packing replenishment cavity will enter the lower packing zone through the multiple layers of transverse porous partition plates 12, preventing the formation of voids and leaks.

[0030] In this embodiment, the vacuuming structure includes a vacuuming pipeline 19. The front end of the vacuuming pipeline 19 is divided into two branches. The first branch is located between the vacuum cover 14 of the packing replenishment chamber and the inner wall 16 of the packing replenishment chamber. The second branch is located between the outer wall 10 of the liquid hydrogen sphere tank and the inner wall 11 of the liquid hydrogen sphere tank. The rear end is connected to the vacuuming valve 20.

[0031] The front end of the evacuation pipeline 19 is divided into two branches. The first branch is located between the vacuum cover 14 of the packing replenishment chamber and the inner wall 16 of the packing replenishment chamber. The second branch is located between the outer wall 10 of the liquid hydrogen spherical tank and the inner wall 11 of the liquid hydrogen spherical tank. The rear end is connected to the evacuation valve 20, which can evacuate the above two areas and maintain a high vacuum.

[0032] In this embodiment, liquid hydrogen filling pipeline 8 and hydrogen discharge pipeline 6 are respectively equipped with liquid hydrogen filling valve 9 and hydrogen discharge valve 7 at their ends.

[0033] The operating principle of a stacked adiabatic liquid hydrogen spherical tank is as follows:

[0034] Assuming all valves are closed, the liquid hydrogen sphere tank is filled with expanded perlite packing.

[0035] (1) Vacuuming.

[0036] The evacuation pipeline 19 is connected to components such as a vacuum pump. The evacuation valve 20 is opened to start evacuation. When the vacuum level of the expanded perlite packing area between the outer wall 10 and the inner wall 11 of the liquid hydrogen spherical tank, and the vacuum area between the vacuum cover 14 of the packing replenishment chamber and the inner wall 16 of the packing replenishment chamber reaches the required level, the evacuation valve 20 is closed, and the evacuation is completed. The liquid hydrogen spherical tank 1 has good heat insulation capabilities.

[0037] (2) Pre-cooling injection.

[0038] 1) Connect liquid hydrogen filling line 8 to the liquid hydrogen source, open liquid hydrogen filling valve 9 and hydrogen discharge valve 7, and start small-flow liquid hydrogen precooling.

[0039] 2) In the initial stage, the inner wall 11 of the liquid hydrogen sphere tank begins to cool down, and the expanded perlite packing 13 in contact with it begins to cool and shrink. However, under the action of the longitudinal partition plate 3 and the transverse porous partition plate 12, the expanded perlite packing 13 only shrinks in the corresponding space and does not affect the overall thermal insulation performance.

[0040] 3) As the temperature of the expanded perlite filler 13 continues to decrease, the shrinkage increases. At this time, the upper expanded perlite filler will move downward through the transverse porous partition plate 12, and the expanded perlite filler 13 inside the inner wall 16 of the filler filling cavity will also move downward to fill the corresponding voids and prevent hot spots from forming.

[0041] 4) The low-temperature hydrogen from the hydrogen emission pipe 6 first enters the gas channel of the gas freezer 17 to cool it. The hydrogen heats up, and after the gas freezer 17 cools down, it freezes the excess gas generated by the release of the internal materials. Then the hydrogen continues to enter the gas channel of the internally cooled adsorber 18 to cool the adsorbent on the surface of the internally cooled adsorber 18 and improve the adsorption capacity of the adsorbent. Under the combined action of the gas freezer 17 and the internally cooled adsorber 18, the high vacuum inside can be maintained for a long time, and the cooling capacity of the low-temperature hydrogen is utilized in stages, maximizing efficiency.

[0042] 5) When the liquid hydrogen level inside the liquid hydrogen spherical tank 1 reaches the set value, close the liquid hydrogen filling valve 9 to complete the filling, and then proceed to the storage state.

[0043] (3) Discharge and reheating.

[0044] When the liquid hydrogen medium inside the liquid hydrogen spherical tank 1 is used up and not replenished in time, the liquid hydrogen spherical tank 1 will slowly reheat until the whole thing reaches room temperature.

[0045] 1) When the temperature rise is small, the expanded perlite packing 13 will expand slightly. At this time, under the action of the longitudinal partition plate 3 and the transverse porous partition plate 12, the liquid hydrogen spherical tank as a whole remains stable, and the longitudinal partition plate 3 and the transverse porous partition plate 12 can also adapt to the increased pressure.

[0046] 2) When the temperature is directly raised to room temperature, the expanded perlite packing 13 will expand significantly. At this time, the expanded perlite packing 13 moves upward through the transverse porous partition plate 12, and the excess part generated by the expansion enters the inner wall 16 of the packing replenishment chamber. At the same time, the solid gas frozen by the gas freezer 17 begins to vaporize, and the adsorption capacity of the internal cooling adsorber 18 also decreases synchronously. When the internal cooling adsorber 18 cannot completely adsorb the gas generated by the vaporization of the gas freezer 17, the vacuum inside the liquid hydrogen spherical tank 1 is destroyed, and the vacuuming in step (1) needs to be repeated when it is used again.

[0047] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, but the scope of protection of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any equivalent substitutions or modifications made by those skilled in the art within the scope of the technology disclosed in the present invention, based on the technical solution and inventive concept of the present invention, should be covered within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A stacked adiabatic liquid hydrogen spherical tank, comprising a liquid hydrogen spherical tank (1) and a support (2) mounted at its bottom, characterized in that, The liquid hydrogen spherical tank (1) includes an outer wall (10) and an inner wall (11). The outer wall (10) and the inner wall (11) are divided into multiple longitudinal partitions (4) by several longitudinal partitions (3). A packing replenishment chamber (5) is provided at the top of the longitudinal partitions (4). Expanded perlite packing (13) is filled in the longitudinal partitions (4). The top of the liquid hydrogen spherical tank (1) is connected to a liquid hydrogen filling pipeline (8) and a hydrogen discharge pipeline (6). The ends of the hydrogen discharge pipeline (6) are connected after passing through the packing replenishment chamber (5). A cooling structure is provided on the packing replenishment chamber (5). The filling chamber (5) includes a filling chamber vacuum cover (14) and a filling chamber inner wall (16). A vacuuming structure is provided between the filling chamber vacuum cover (14) and the filling chamber inner wall (16). The filling chamber inner wall (16) is filled with expanded perlite filler (13). The filling chamber inner wall (16) and the longitudinal partition area (4) are internally connected. The cooling structure includes a gas freezer (17) and an internally cooled adsorber (18). The inlets of the gas freezer (17) and the internally cooled adsorber (18) for low-temperature hydrogen are installed outside the inner wall (16) of the packing replenishment chamber, and the rest are located inside the inner wall (16) of the packing replenishment chamber. The hydrogen discharge pipeline (6) is connected to the gas freezer (17) and the internally cooled adsorber (18) in sequence along the airflow direction.

2. The stacked adiabatic liquid hydrogen spherical tank according to claim 1, characterized in that, The vacuum hood (14) of the filling chamber is connected to the outer wall (10) of the liquid hydrogen sphere tank via a fiberglass connector (15).

3. The stacked adiabatic liquid hydrogen spherical tank according to claim 2, characterized in that, The longitudinal partition (4) is provided with multiple layers of horizontal perforated partition plates (12) from top to bottom, which divide the entire longitudinal partition (4) into multiple spaces.

4. A stacked adiabatic liquid hydrogen spherical tank according to claim 3, characterized in that, The vacuum structure includes a vacuum pipe (19), the front end of which is divided into two branches. The first branch is located between the vacuum cover (14) of the filling chamber and the inner wall (16) of the filling chamber, and the second branch is located between the outer wall (10) of the liquid hydrogen sphere tank and the inner wall (11) of the liquid hydrogen sphere tank. The rear end is connected to the vacuum valve (20).

5. A stacked adiabatic liquid hydrogen spherical tank according to claim 4, characterized in that, The ends of the liquid hydrogen filling pipeline (8) and the hydrogen discharge pipeline (6) are respectively equipped with liquid hydrogen filling valve (9) and hydrogen discharge valve (7).

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