Cryogenic propellant boil-off reduction system

Abstract

Lunar missions under consideration would benefit from incorporation of high specific impulse propellants such as LH2 and LO2, even with their accompanying boil-off losses necessary to maintain a steady tank pressure. This paper addresses a cryogenic propellant boil-off reduction system to minimize or eliminate boil-off. Concepts to do so were considered under the In-Space Cryogenic Propellant Depot Project. Specific to that was an investigation of cryocooler integration concepts for relatively large depot sized propellant tanks. One concept proved promising - it served to efficiently move heat to the cryocooler even over long distances via a compressed helium loop. The analyses and designs for this were incorporated into NASA Glenn Research Center's Cryogenic Analysis Tool. That design approach is explained and shown herein. Analysis shows that, when compared to passive only cryogenic storage, the boil-off reduction system begins to reduce system mass if durations are as low as 40 days for LH2, and 14 days for LO2. In addition, a method of cooling LH2 tanks is presented that precludes development issues associated with LH2 temperature cryocoolers. © 2008 American Institute of Physics.