Study on effect of liquid level on the heat leak into vertical cryogenic vessels

The diminishing of heat leak into cryogenic vessels can prolong the storage time of cryogenic liquid. With the storage of cryogenic liquid reducing, the heat leak decreases, while the actual storage time increases. Compared with the theoretical analysis, the numerical simulation can more accurately calculate the heat transfer and temperature distribution in the vessel with complex structure. In this paper the steady state heat leak into cryogenic vessels with different liquid level height is analyzed using a finite element model. And liquid nitrogen boil-off method was adopted in experiments to validate the result of numerical simulation. Experimental results indicate favorable agreement with numerical simulation by ANSYS software. The effect of liquid level on heat leak into the cryogenic vessel can be considered in calculation of storage time and structure design. (C) 2010 Published by Elsevier Ltd.