LNG液货舱惰化规律仿真研究

Simulation Study on the Inerting Mechanism of LNG Cargo Tanks

  • 摘要: 随着全球管道天然气净贸易总量的下降,LNG船的营运量逐年增加。其中,惰化是液货操作过程中防止天然气与氧气接触,保证装卸安全的关键环节。为提升LNG液货舱惰化效率,采用ANSYS Fluent数值模拟,建立了缩比液货舱模型,研究了入口费劳德数Fr、入口氮气与舱内空气温差和舱内压力对惰化过程的影响。通过分析流场及氧气体积分数云图,总结了惰化不同阶段的演化规律;随后引入了对流项和浓度驱动扩散项,探讨不同工况下氧气体积分数的变化机理,结果表明:可完成高效惰化的入口Fr区间为700~1200;当入口Fr约为1100时,15 K和30 K的温差相较无温差惰化时间分别缩短44%和54%,氮气耗量分别节省6%和8%;舱内压力在0~15 kPa(G)范围时,惰化时间和氮气耗量相差不超过2%。综上,在保证经济效益的前提下,惰化时可以将入口氮气的温度提高到比环境温度高30 K或以上,并保持入口Fr1100左右。

     

    Abstract: With the global decline in net trade volume of pipeline natural gas, the operational deployment of liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers has been steadily increasing. In particular, inerting constitutes a critical procedure during LNG cargo operation, as it prevents the mixing of natural gas with oxygen and thereby ensures the safety of subsequent loading and unloading procedures. To enhance the efficiency of the inerting process in LNG cargo tanks, numerical simulations were conducted using the commercial software ANSYS Fluent,and a scaled-down physical model of the cargo tank was developed. The study was designed to systematically investigate the influence of the inlet Froude number (Fr), the temperature difference between the injected nitrogen and the internal air,as well as the pressure inside the tank, and to evaluate their respective impacts on the inerting performance. By analyzing the flow field and oxygen volume fraction contours, the evolution patterns of inerting at different stages were summarized. Subsequently, the convection and concentration-driven diffusive terms were introduced to investigate the characteristic mechanisms governing changes in oxygen volume fraction under various operating conditions. The results indicate that the optimal inlet Fr range for efficient inerting lies between 700 and 1 200. Specifically, when the Fr is maintained close to 1 100, the inerting time can be reduced by 44% and 54% under temperature differences of 15 K and 30 K, respectively, when compared to the isothermal case. Meanwhile, the nitrogen consumption is decreased by 6% and 8%, respectively. Furthermore, variations in internal tank pressure within the range of 0 to 15 kPa result in differences of less than 2% in both inerting time and nitrogen usage. In conclusion, under the premise of ensuring economic efficiency, the inlet nitrogen temperature can be raised to about 30 K or more above the ambient temperature during inerting, while maintaining the inlet Fr number at around 1 100.

     

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