Hump-Reinforced Vacuum Jacket for Cryogenic Storage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Cryogenic pressure vessels face challenges in reducing the weight and volume of the outer vacuum jacket, which contributes significantly to the overall system weight and volume, limiting the practical implementation of hydrogen storage in vehicles due to buckling concerns from ambient pressure.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a hump-shaped reinforcement in the outer vacuum jacket simultaneously strengthens it against buckling and reduces system weight and volume, allowing for the use of lighter materials and thinner jackets, while also enabling the placement of a high-pressure vessel ring support within the reinforcement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If the vacuum jacket thickness is reduced to decrease weight, then the weight of the vacuum jacket decreases, but the jacket becomes susceptible to buckling from ambient pressure
Solution Approach 1:
The vacuum jacket is segmented into cylindrical sections and conical end sections. The conical end sections provide structural reinforcement at the ends where buckling is most likely to occur, while the cylindrical sections can be optimized for minimal weight. This segmentation allows different parts of the jacket to have different thickness profiles, reducing overall weight while maintaining buckling resistance at critical locations.
Solution Approach 2:
The vacuum jacket employs conical end sections with specific curvature profiles that inherently resist buckling. The curved conical geometry provides structural strength against ambient pressure without requiring additional thickness, allowing the jacket to maintain buckling resistance while minimizing weight compared to purely cylindrical designs with flat ends.
2Loss of energy
If the vacuum gap thickness is increased to improve insulation, then thermal insulation performance improves, but the system volume increases
Solution Approach 1:
The vacuum gap thickness is optimized locally rather than uniformly throughout. The gap may be thinner in regions where structural reinforcement is present and thicker in regions where insulation is most critical. This local optimization allows the system to achieve adequate thermal insulation performance with reduced overall volume compared to a uniform vacuum gap design.
Solution Approach 2:
The vacuum insulation system may incorporate composite structures including multiple vacuum gaps, insulation layers, and reflective barriers. This composite approach provides effective thermal insulation with reduced volume by combining multiple mechanisms (vacuum, reflection, conduction barriers) rather than relying solely on a thick single vacuum gap.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach enhances volumetric and gravimetric hydrogen storage performance, enabling more compact and lightweight hydrogen storage solutions for vehicles, such as hydrogen-fueled automobiles, aircraft, and submarines, by reducing the weight and volume of the cryogenic vessel system.
Implementation Method 1
the presence of an outer vacuum jacket that protects the internal high-pressure vessel from environmental or mechanical impact
Implementation Method 2
the potential for buckling caused by ambient pressure sets a lower limit for vacuum jacket thickness
Data Source
AI summary
A cryogenic hydrogen storage vessel includes an outer vacuum vessel, a reinforcement ring on the outer vacuum vessel, an inner pressure vessel inside of the outer vacuum vessel, and a vacuum space between the outer vacuum vessel and the inner pressure vessel. One embodiment of the cryogenic hydrogen storage vessel includes an outer vacuum vessel; a hump-shaped reinforcement ring on the outer vacuum vessel, the hump-shaped reinforcement ring including an external hump portion that protrudes from the hump-shaped reinforcement ring and an internal recess in the hump-shaped reinforcement ring; an inner pressure vessel inside of the outer vacuum vessel, a vacuum space between the outer vacuum vessel and the inner pressure vessel, and a composite support ring in the vacuum space extending from the hump-shaped reinforcement ring on the outer vacuum vessel to the inner pressure vessel, the composite support ring nested in the recess in the hump-shaped reinforcement ring.