Design details
GRE was contracted to design and manufacture super-insulated, liquid hydrogen fill and vent lines for a vacuum insulated LH2 storage tank.
This design study arose from the client’s experience with other SIVL manufacturers, who appeared to simply be repurposing LN2 cryogenic equipment for LH2 purposes. Our specific remit was to look at the production of a vacuum jacked transfer line that would provide both performance and safety combined, for a this extremely safety-critical project.
GRE engineers spent time researching and designing a new ‘recipe’ for our LH2/H2 pipework.
This new design incorporates non-flammable MLI (multi-layer super-insulation), every layer of which is earth-boded, both each other and to internal studding placed at regular intervals along the inner flow pipe, non-flammable getter baskets and the option for a a safety blow-off port that can vent directly to a separate vent line in the case of an internal line failure.
All GRE’s hydrogen lines come with an earth bonding resistance test in addition to the already extensive certification pack that we provide to our clients.
As with all of GRE’s vacuum insulated pipework/systems the client was then presented with a comprehensive standard document package including:
- Material Test Certificates
- Individual line/component factor test reports (Vacuum Conditioning, Earth bonding test, Helium leak and positive pressure tests)
- Installation and operation manuals
- Declaration of conformance documentation
All bespoke machined fittings and ports were provided by www.ashbrook-engineering.co.uk