Extended Parametric Design of Cryogenic Liquid Hydrogen Tanks

The use of liquid hydrogen (LH2) as a zero-emission energy carrier is increasingly relevant for next-generation transport systems, requiring reliable cryogenic storage solutions operating at approximately −253 °C. This study presents a computational analysis of LH2 storage tanks, focusing on the coupled thermal–structural behavior of insulated cryogenic vessels under varying design parameters. The present work expands upon our previous effort by employing the Finite Element Method (FEM) to perform a parametric investigation of these tanks. This is accomplished by examining the effect of the insulating material and the change in the storage volume of LH2, as well as the change in the selected hydrogen boil-off rate (BOR). Results show that increasing the BOR from 0.1%/h to 1.0%/h reduces the required insulation thickness and mass by approximately 90% across all configurations, significantly altering system-level mass distribution. Substituting polyurethane foam (PUR-64) with lower-density equivalent (PUR-32) yields heat-flow reductions of up to 19.5% in two configurations, while producing an unexpected increase of approximately 10% in one case due to nonlinear thermal-gradient effects. Furthermore, increasing the hydrogen storage volume from 50 m3 to 150 m3 enhances gravimetric efficiency by 58%, 75%, and up to 104% depending on tank geometry. The results demonstrate the demand for robust numerical models, due to the nonlinear dependence of the materials involved with temperature.