Wesley L. Johnson

Cylindrical boiloff calorimeters for testing of thermal insulation systems

Cryostats have been developed and standardized for laboratory testing of thermal insulation systems in a cylindrical configuration. Boiloff calorimetry is the measurement principle for determining the effective thermal conductivity (ke) and heat flux (q) of a test specimen at a fixed environmental condition (boundary temperatures, cold vacuum pressure, and residual gas composition). Through its heat of vaporization, liquid nitrogen serves as the energy meter, but the design is adaptable for various cryogens. The main instrument, Cryostat-100, is thermally guarded and directly measures absolute thermal performance. A cold mass assembly and all fluid and instrumentation feedthroughs are suspended from a lid of the vacuum canister; and a custom lifting mechanism allows the assembly and specimen to be manipulated easily. Each of three chambers is filled and vented through a single feedthrough for minimum overall heat leakage. The cold mass design precludes direct, solid-conduction heat transfer (other than through the vessels outer wall itself) from one liquid volume to another, which is critical for achieving very low heat measurements. The cryostat system design details and test methods are discussed, as well as results for select thermal insulation materials. Additional cylindrical boiloff calorimeters and progress toward a liquid hydrogen apparatus are also discussed.

Cryogenic Boil-Off Reduction System Testing

Cryogenic propellants such as liquid hydrogen (LH2) and liquid oxygen (LO2) are a part of NASAs future space exploration due to the high specific impulse that can be achieved using engines suitable for moving 10s to 100s of metric tons of payload mass to destinations outside of low earth orbit. However, the low storage temperatures of LH2 and LO2 cause substantial boil-off losses for missions with durations greater than several days. The losses can be greatly reduced by incorporating high performance cryocooler technology to intercept heat load to the propellant tanks and by the integration of self-supporting multi-layer insulation. The active thermal control technology under development is the integration of the reverse turbo- Brayton cycle cryocooler to the propellant tank through a distributed cooling network of tubes coupled to a shield in the tank insulation and to the tank wall itself. Also, the self-supporting insulation technology was utilized under the shield to obtain needed tank applied LH2 performance. These elements were recently tested at NASA Glenn Research Center in a series of three tests, two that reduced LH2 boil-off and one to eliminate LO2 boil-off. This test series was conducted in a vacuum chamber that replicated the vacuum of space and the temperatures of low Earth orbit. The test results show that LH2 boil-off was reduced 60% by the cryocooler system operating at 90K and that robust LO2 zero boil-off storage, including full tank pressure control was achieved.

Cryogenic Propellant Insulation System Design Tools for Mass Optimization of Space Vehicles

A suite of design tools for cryogenic fluid storage thermal insulation systems have been developed between Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). Preliminary design tools for both passive and active cryogenic fluid storage systems were developed. The initial use for these tools is in designing cryogen storage systems for inspace vehicles for the Lunar campaign; however, they can also be applied to other flight and storage vessels. Due to the high specific impulses associated with cryogenic propellant systems, they are in high demand from space vehicle designers. However, without proper knowledge of how to design cryogenic propellant storage tanks, erroneously huge losses due to unoptimized sizing and insulation may be calculated. The goal of creating these tools was to establish a NASA in-house design tool that could be used to assist future vehicle designs. Both tools were successfully used in the Long Duration Earth Departure Stage Study as well as the initial planning stages for the cryogenic fluids options for Altair and in many studies supporting the Constellation Lunar Architecture Team as well as the Constellation Mars Architecture Teams Mars Design Reference Architecture Study. The use of these tools in the above studies helped to establish the feasibility of using cryogenic propellants for long term space flight without enduring the large mass penalties previously seen in cryogenic space flight.

Ground Operations Demonstration Unit for Liquid Hydrogen Initial Test Results

NASA operations for handling cryogens in ground support equipment have not changed substantially in 50 years, despite major technology advances in the field of cryogenics. NASA loses approximately 50% of the hydrogen purchased because of a continuous heat leak into ground and flight vessels, transient chill down of warm cryogenic equipment, liquid bleeds, and vent losses. NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC) needs to develop energy-efficient cryogenic ground systems to minimize propellant losses, simplify operations, and reduce cost associated with hydrogen usage. The GODU LH2 project has designed, assembled, and started testing of a prototype storage and distribution system for liquid hydrogen that represents an advanced end-to-end cryogenic propellant system for a ground launch complex. The project has multiple objectives including zero loss storage and transfer, liquefaction of gaseous hydrogen, and densification of liquid hydrogen. The system is unique because it uses an integrated refrigeration and storage system (IRAS) to control the state of the fluid. This paper will present and discuss the results of the initial phase of testing of the GODU LH2 system.

Zero Boil-Off Methods for Large Scale Liquid Hydrogen Tanks Using Integrated Refrigeration and Storage

NASA has completed a series of tests at the Kennedy Space Center to demonstrate the capability of using integrated refrigeration and storage (IRAS) to remove energy from a liquid hydrogen (LH2) tank and control the state of the propellant. A primary test objective was the keeping and storing of the liquid in a zero boil-off state, so that the total heat leak entering the tank is removed by a cryogenic refrigerator with an internal heat exchanger. The LH2 is therefore stored and kept with zero losses for an indefinite period of time. The LH2 tank is a horizontal cylindrical geometry with a vacuum-jacketed, multilayer insulation system and a capacity of 125,000 liters. The closed-loop helium refrigeration system was a Linde LR1620 capable of 390W cooling at 20K (without any liquid nitrogen pre-cooling). Three different control methods were used to obtain zero boil-off: temperature control of the helium refrigerant, refrigerator control using the tank pressure sensor, and duty cycling (on/off) of the refrigerator as needed. Summarized are the IRAS design approach, zero boil-off control methods, and results of the series of zero boil-off tests.

Flat-plate boiloff calorimeters for testing of thermal insulation systems

Cryostats have been developed and standardized for laboratory testing of thermal insulation systems in a flat-plate configuration. Boiloff calorimetry is the measurement principle for determining the effective thermal conductivity (ke) and heat flux (q) of test specimens under a wide range of actual conditions. Cryostat-500 is thermally guarded to measure absolute thermal performance when calibrated with a known reference via an adjustable-edge guard ring. With liquid nitrogen as the energy meter, the cold boundary temperature can be adjusted to any temperature between 77 K and approximately 300 K by the interposition of a thermal resistance layer between the cold mass and the specimen. A low thermal conductivity suspension system has compliance rods that adjust for specimen thickness and compression force. Material type, thickness, density, flatness, compliance, outgassing, and temperature sensor placement are important test considerations, and edge effects and calibration techniques for the apparatus are crucial. Over the full vacuum pressure range, the thermal performance capability is nearly four orders of magnitude. The horizontal configuration provides key advantages over the vertical cylindrical cryostats for testing at ambient pressure conditions. Cryostat-500s design and test methods, other flat-plate boiloff calorimeters, and results for select thermal insulation materials (composites, foams, aerogels) are discussed.

Investigation into Cryogenic Tank Insulation Systems for the Mars Surface Environment [STUB]

In order to use oxygen that is produced on the surface of Mars from In-Situ production processes in a chemical propulsion system, the oxygen must first be converted from vapor phase to liquid phase and then stored within the propellant tanks of the propulsions system. The oxygen must then be stored in the liquid phase for several years between when the liquefaction operations are initiated and when the ascent stage lifts off the Martian surface. Since the Space Exploration Initiative, NASA has been investing small sums of money into soft vacuum systems for Mars Applications. A study was done into these various insulation systems for soft vacuum insulation, to determine what types of systems might be best to further pursue. Five different architectures or cycles were considered: Aerogel based multilayer Insulation (MLAI), Space Evacuated Mars Vacuum Jacket (SEMOV) (also known as lightweight vacuum jacket), Load Responsive-Multilayer Insulation, Spray on Foam with multilayer insulation, and MLAI in SEMOV. Models of each architecture were developed to give insight into the performance and losses of each of the options. The results were then compared across six categories: Insulation System Mass, Active System Power (both input and heat rejection), Insulation System Cost, Manufacturability, Reliability, and Operational Flexibility. The result was that a trade between reliability and mass was clearly identified. Systems with high mass, also had high perceived reliability; whereas, systems with lower mass and power had a much lower perceived reliability. In the end, the numerical trades of these systems showed nominally identical rankings. As a result it is recommended that NASA focus its Martian insulation development activities on demonstrating and improving the reliability of the lightweight identified systems.

Liquefaction and Storage of In-Situ Oxygen on the Surface of Mars

The In-Situ production of propellants for Martian and Lunar missions has been heavily discussed since the mid 1990s. One portion of the production of the propellants is the liquefaction, storage, and delivery of the propellants to the stage tanks. Two key technology development efforts are required: large refrigeration systems (cryocoolers) to perform the liquefaction and high performance insulation within a soft vacuum environment. Several different concepts of operation may be employed to liquefy the propellants based on how and where these two technologies are implemented. The concepts that were investigated include: using an accumulator tank to store the propellant until it is needed, liquefying in the flow stream going into the tank, and liquefying in the flight propellant tank itself. The different concept of operations were studied to assess the mass and power impacts of each concept. Additionally, the trade between insulation performance and cryocooler mass was performed to give performance targets for soft vacuum insulation development. It was found that liquefying within the flight propellant tank itself adds the least mass and power requirements to the mission.

Tank Applied Testing of Load-Bearing Multilayer Insulation (LB-MLI)

The development of long duration orbital cryogenic storage systems will require the reduction of heat loads into the storage tank. In the case of liquid hydrogen, complete elimination of the heat load at 20 K is currently impractical due to the limitations in lift available on flight cryocoolers. In order to reduce the heat load, without having to remove heat at 20 K, the concept of Reduced Boil-Off uses cooled shields within the insulation system at approximately 90 K. The development of Load-Bearing Multilayer Insulation (LB-MLI) allowed the 90 K shield with tubing and cryocooler attachments to be suspended within the MLI and still be structurally stable. Coupon testing both thermally and structurally were performed to verify that the LB-MLI should work at the tank applied level. Then tank applied thermal and structural (acoustic) testing was performed to demonstrate the functionality of the LB-MLI as a structural insulation system. The LB-MLI showed no degradation of thermal performance due to the acoustic testing and showed excellent thermal performance when integrated with a 90 K class cryocooler on a liquid hydrogen tank.