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This paper describes the testing methods used to determine the thermal properties of insulation materials and mechanical properties of materials used for the load-bearing structure for pressure tanks (up to 4 bar, relative) and cryogenic liquids (LNG, −166 °C to -157 °C at atmospheric pressure). Goal is to design a transportation tank that does not exceed 4 bars (relative) within 10 h, starting at atmospheric pressure. PUR-foam is a suitable material for the insulation. A 12,5 l small scale tank prototype reached 4 bar (relative) within 87 minutes, which is, regarding the influence of the size, a satisfying result. The mechanical properties change significantly at cryogenic temperatures. The bending modulus is similar at first, but decreases at a certain point by appr. 50 %. However, the maximum stress is much higher and could not be reached within this testing setup.
To reduce the emission of carbondyoxide (CO2) of combustion engines, liquefied natural gas (LNG) is used as an alternative fuel. LNG is transported via truck, ship or railway for long distances. Double walled stainless steel tanks are used for transportation, which are heavy and expensive. The vacuum insulation between the two walled structure ensures that the LNG stays liquid over the transportation time (boiling point of LNG: -162 ◦C). This causes a high temperature difference between the transported good and the ambient air.
A simplified tank construction is used to reduce the weight and price of the tank. Instead of stainless steel, glass fiber reinforced plastic (GFRP) is used. The design is changed to a single walled construction with a solid insulation material outside on the GFRP structure.
Goal of this work is the characterization of a suitable insulation material and configuration as well as the analysis of the mechanical properties of GFRP under cryogenic conditions. Several experiments are carried out. Numerical models of these experiments can then be used for parameter studies.
To satisfy the applied compressive stresses of friction welded drive pinion fabricated by using the joint-site structure (JSS) method, three different variants were followed: (A) the initial design with two joints was carried out. Two different burn-off lengths were examined for this variant. (B) The optimum burn-off length was considered for only one weld zone. (C) The weld zone was moved radially from the initial location and two different gap sizes were compared. The smallest gap size for the third variant led to the largest weld length. The lack of structural welding defects for this variant was assessed by ultrasonic testing. Hardness of the material after friction welding (FW) was correlated to the Continuous Cooling Transformation (CCT) diagram of the used materials and revealed the phase/microstructure transformation of the material. The simulated applied stresses on the optimized friction welded design of the drive pinion showed suitable results. The new drive pinion friction welded by the JSS method reduced the weight of the component by approx. 14%.