Design and simulation of airborne liquid-hydrogen tank for unmanned aerial vehicle

A novel type of airborne liquid-hydrogen storage tank, for fueling of unmanned aerial vehicle (UVA), was developed. In addition to high vacuum multilayer insulation, the original work included a point-contact thermal insulation support combination with zirconia rods as the point-contacts because of its high mechanical strength and low thermal conductivity, and a longer gas-liquid coil to increase the structural thermal resistance. The heat-transfer and heat-leakage of the new spherical cryogenic tank were empirically approximated, mathematically modeled in 1-D and 3-D dimensions, theoretically calculated, and numerically simulated in finite element method. The calculated and simulated results show that the newly-developed cryogenic tank outperforms the conventional one. For example, the point-contact support combination and long gas-liquid coil reduce the heat-flow by over 90%; and the new cryogenic tank decreases the heat-leakage by 24.6%~35.2%. We suggest that the novel cryogenic tank may meet all the stringent requirements of UAV airborne liquid hydrogen tank.