Analysis of the Effect of Geometric Ratio of Liquefied Natural Gas Storage Tank Sides on Thermal Conditions of the Tank

A mathematical model of thermogravitational heat transfer process in a closed area of liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanks is constructed and a numerical study is made. An unsteady system of energy and Navier-Stokes equations in dimensionless speed vortex-stream function variables with corresponding boundary conditions is solved. Based on the results of numerical analysis of distributions of thermodynamic parameters and temperatures, which characterize the basic laws of heat transfer, the mechanisms of formation of circulating flows in the LNG are disclosed. An analysis is made of the rate of LNG evaporation from the free surface in the tank. The effect of longitudinal and transverse dimensions of the tank and the rate of heat transfer at the inner boundaries of the tank on the temperature field in the LNG storage tanks is determined.