Design and Finite Element Thermo-Structural Analysis of a Structurally Integrated Multilayer Composite Cryogenic Thermal Barrier for Liquid Hydrogen Tank Applications
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Effective thermal insulation of cryogenic liquid hydrogen (LH2) storage tanks remains a critical engineering challenge, as conventional vacuum-based or monolithic systems are constrained by manufacturing complexity, mechanical vulnerability, and poor geometric adaptability. This study presents the design and numerical verification of a four-layer octagonal composite thermal shield fabricated via additive manufacturing: an AA5083 structural layer (5 mm), a boron nitride-doped ceramic plate (1 mm), up to 290 stacked graphene sheets in a sealed compartment, and an outer Fe3S4-TiO2 nanocomposite layer (~30 µm). Steady-state and transient FEA in ANSYS evaluated three convective boundary conditions (h = 10, 15, and 20 W/m2·K), with the inner wall fixed at 20 K. Temperature distributions remained essentially invariant across all cases (20 K inner, ~20.12 K outer), confirming that thermal performance is governed by the multilayer architecture rather than convective intensity. The shield achieved a mean heat flux of 1684 W/m2, R_total ≈ 0.163 m2K/W, and a boil-off rate of 13.9 g/hour. Comparative FEA against NASA US9617069 (q = 193.35 W/m2) and JP2018-119634A (q = 37.975 W/m2) highlights the compactness advantage of the proposed 6 mm shield; the coupled thermo-structural assessment yielded a safety factor of 64,182, confirming elastic-regime operation at 20 K.
Source: Aerospace
Authors: Alexa-Andreea Crisan, Mircea Moraru, Daniel-Eugeniu Crunteanu, Alina Bogoi
Language: English
Subfield: Aerospace Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,896
OpenAlex ID: W7161625266