Diagnosis of a poorly performing liquid hydrogen bulk storage sphere

Abstract

There are two 3,218 cubic meter (850,000 gallon) Liquid Hydrogen (LH 2) storage spheres used to support the Space Shuttle Program; one residing at Launch Pad A, the other at Launch Pad B. The Sphere at Pad B had a high boiloff rate when brought into service in the 1960s. In 2001, the daily commodity loss was approximately double that of the Pad A sphere, and well above the maximum allowed by the specification. After being re-painted in the 1990s a "cold spot" appeared on the outer sphere that resulted in poor paint bonding and mold formation. Thermography was used to characterize the area, and the boiloff rate was continually evaluated. All evidence suggested that the high boiloff rate was caused by an excessive heat leak into the inner sphere due to an insulation void in the annulus. Pad B was recently taken out of service, which provided a unique opportunity to perform a series of visual inspections of the insulation. Boroscope examinations revealed a large Perlite void in the region where the cold spot was apparent. Perlite was then trucked in and offloaded into the annular void region until full. The sphere has not yet been brought back into service. © 2012 American Institute of Physics.