Study on Thermal Response Characteristics of Liquid Hydrogen Tank with a Three-point Support Structure for Vehicles

As a renewable clean energy with high efficiency, hydrogen is extremely popular in the civil transportation field. In particular, the liquid hydrogen offers a unique energy storage advantage in the hydrogen system for vehicles. To facilitate the promotion and development of liquid hydrogen-fuelled commercial vehicles, the design of support structures and their thermal response characteristics for liquid hydrogen tank is significantly important. A three-point support structure connecting the inner and outer containers of the liquid hydrogen tank for vehicles is designed. The heat transfer calculations, intensity check and modal analysis are conducted by using the finite element method. The results show that this support structure scheme is feasible for the support between internal and external containers of liquid hydrogen tank for vehicles. According to the calculation, the total heat leakage into the tank through the supports is 19.6 W, and there is without frost or dew formation on the surface of tank. In addition, the maximum stress and deformation of liquid hydrogen tank under full condition are 299.04 MPa and 4.01 mm, respectively, which increase 5.37 times and 9.55 times compared with that under empty condition. Moreover, the emergency braking case is the most dangerous condition for liquid hydrogen tank. The strength check is carried out for the stainless-steel structures and the glass fiber reinforced plastic ring structures respectively. The results indicates that the three-point support structure can meet the strength requirements of the actual transportation process. Finally, the first ten natural frequencies of the liquid hydrogen tank are concentrated between 41 and 122 Hz, which means that there is no resonance phenomenon in the actual transport process.