Large scale demonstration of liquid hydrogen storage with zero boiloff

Cryocooler and passive insulation technology advances have substantially improved prospects for zero boiloff (ZBO) cryogenic storage. Therefore, a cooperative effort by NASA's Ames Research Center, Glenn Research Center, and Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) has been implemented to develop ZBO concepts for in-space cryogenic storage. Described herein is one program element, a large-scale ZBO demonstration using the MSFC Multipurpose Hydrogen Test Bed (MHTB). A commercial cryocooler is interfaced with the existing MHTB spray-bar mixer and insulation system in a manner that enables a balance between incoming and extracted thermal energy. The testing is scheduled for the summer of 2001. In this paper the test objectives, test set-up, and test procedures are presented.