ThermalStudyonLNGCargoTank

LiRong*1,JinWenbing2,ZhangJuyong3,JinJialei4,XuEndao5
SchoolofMechanicalEngineering,HangzhouDianziUniversity,Hangzhou,China,310018
*1

lirongjx@hdu.edu.cn;2644973807@qq.com;3zhang_juyong01@163.com;4jinjialei005@163.com;5xuendao90@126.com

Abstract
The LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) cargo tank is a key
component in the maritime transport of 163 LNG. The
cryoinsulationperformanceofcargotankdirectlyaffectsthe
securityofLNGtransportgreatly.Basedona147000m3LNG
cargotank,astructuraltypeoftheLNGcargotankiscertain,
whichincludesitsmaterialsandparameters.Withthesafety
requirements of cryopreservation of 163 LNG, the
temperature fields and the thermal stress distribution of
LNG cargo tank with full load are simulated by a 3d
mathematic model by finite element software. Lastly, a
coolingschemeofLNGcargotankiscompletedaccordingto
its thermal performance. The cooling method has some
practicalmeaningtosomeengineering.
Keywords
LNG;CargoTank;HeatinsulatingLayer;ThermalDesign

Introduction
Nowadays, as one of the three pillars of the world
energy, natural gas is the most important part in the
world. At present, natural gas become the fastest
growing energy with an average annual growth rate
20%,thoughitcannotmeetthedemandofthemarket,
whichhastorelyonimports.LNG(LiquefiedNatural
Gas) is a product of natural gas, which can solve the
transportation from overseas origin. Since the boiling
point of LNG is 163 under standard pressure, it
needs maintain the ultralow temperature during its
transportation.TheLNGcargotankisusedtoloadthe
163 LNG, which must be protected strictly from
ocean shipping environment. Therefore, the cryo
insulation performance of cargo tank directly affects
thesecurityofLNGtransportgreatly.Andthethermal
designofcargotankbecomesitsdesignpoint.
Based on a 147000m3 LNG cargo tank, a structural &
thermaldesignofthecargotankisputout.Inorderto
ensureitssecurityofcargotank,underthermaldesign
requirements, the thermal performance of cargo tank
must be checked in order to make out its cooling
scheme.
LNG Cargo Tank
In order to ensure the safety and efficiency of the

LNGship during its transportation, there are many

strict requirementson itscargo tank in the design of
LNGship.AtpresentthecommontypesofLNGship
areasfollows.
Firstly,LNGshipwithfilmtypecargotank.Thereisa
main shield wall with a very thin film to construct a
cargo tank. The cargo tank is supported by an
insulatinglayerthroughthehull.Forthesakeofsafety,
therearedualinsulatinglayersoutsideofcargotank.
Theoutsideofcargotankaretwolayers,whichmake
of heat insulating material. And the inside of cargo
tank is a thin film, which make of metal film.
Technigaz and Gaz Transport are two typical
LNGfilmcargotanks,whichareshowninFIGURE1
(a)and(b).ThereisaleakproofinterlayerintheLNG
filmcargotank;itneedsnottocalculatethermalstress
distributionofcargotank.Ontheotherhand,thethin
filmofmetalcanreducetheweightofthecargotank,
andcanshortenthetimeofprecoolingbeforeloading
LNG.

(a)Technigazfilm(b)GazTransportfilm(c)global
FIGURE1.THREEKINDSOFLNGCARGOTANK

Secondly,LNGshipwithglobaltypecargotank.This
cargo tank belongs to B type independent liquid
cargo tank, which is used almost exclusively for
liquefied natural gas ship. And recently it is widely
usedinLNGship.Usually,thereare4~6globalcargo
tanksononeLNGship.Foreachone,thereisaglobal
main shield wall of metal to construct a cargo tank.
And each one is protected with insulating system on
its outside. The global cargo tank is supported by a
cylindricaltubularballatitsequator.Therefore,allthe
weight of LNG cargo tank is supported by its plate
membranethroughthehull.TwokindsofLNGcargo
tank above are different in characteristics, design
difficulties and practicability. Their advantages and
disadvantagesarelistinTable1indetail.

InternationalJournalofAutomationandControlEngineering,Vol.4,No.1April20155
23257407/15/0100542015DEStechPublications,Inc.
doi:10.12783/ijace.2015.0401.02

6LiRong,JinWenbing,ZhangJuyong,JinJialei,XuEndao

TABLE1.COMPARISONOFTWOTYPECARGOTANKS
Item
Constructioncost
Spaceutilizationrate
Drivingvision
Airresistance
Coursestability
Anticollisionability

Globalcargotank
high
low
Bigblindarea
large
poor
good

Polyurethane foam and expanded perlite are two

kindsofmaterialtoapplyintoLNGcargotankbased
on comprehensive consideration. Therefore, two
design schemes of LNG cargo tank are set up clearly
asfollows.

Filmcargotank
low
high
Smallblindarea
small
good
good

TABLE3.PROPERTIESOFINSULATIONMATERIALSUSEDIN
LNGCARGOTANK

Compared with construction cost, space utilization

rate,drivingvision,airresistance,andcoursestability,
andanticollisionability,filmcargotankisbetterwith
comprehensive performance. Considering film cargo
tankiswidelyapplicablenowadays,thispaperfocuses
on thermal and structural design of LNG film cargo
tank.

Thermal
Bulk
Water
conductivity density absorption
(W/mK) (kg/m3) rate(%)

Item
Rigid
polyurethane
foam
Polystyrene
foam
Expanded
perlite

Cryogenic Insulation Design of LNG Film

Cargo Tank
CryogenicinsulationdesignofLNGfilmcargotankis
to reduce the heat from environment into tank with
conduction, convection and radiation. Based on the
cryogenic insulation design of tank, it can ensure the
LNGinitstankat163withnormalpressurelevels
duringtransformation.

Combustion

0.19

30~40

1.5

Self
extinguishing

0.043

79

2930

Nonflammable

0.051

112115

0.5

Nonflammable

Foamglass

0.037

2535

2.0

PVCfoam

0.031

3070

1.0

Phenolicfoam

0.031

3040

4.0

Self
extinguishing
Self
extinguishing
Fireretardant

First scheme: there is a 1.2mm stainless steel plate to

makeofthemainfilm.Andthemembraneismadeof
glass fiber cloth, aluminum foil and glass fiber cloth.
Primary insulation layer and secondary insulation
layeraremadeofreinforcedpolyurethanefoamblock.
The structure of insulation layers are shown in
FIGURE2andTable4.

WiththereferenceofindependentLNGcargotank,it
isnecessarytocoveraninsulationlayeroncargotank.
How to design its appropriate thermal insulation
material and its thickness becomes the important
content of its cryoinsulation design. The insulation
materialsusedinLNGcargotankmustmeettheneeds
listedinTable2.
TABLE2.REQUIREMENTSOFINSULATIONMATERIALSUSEDIN
LNGCARGOTANK
Item

Requirement

Thermalconductivity

small

Antiabsorbenthygroscopicity

excellent

Resistancetowatervapourpermeability

excellent

Lowthermalexpansioncoefficient

small

FIGURE2.DIAGRAMOFCARGOTANKINSULATION
STRUCTURE

Flameretardant

excellent

TABLE4.DETAILSOFINSULATIONSTRUCTURE

In addition to the above, insulation material should

also meets good chemical stability, high mechanical
strength,cheappriceandconvenientconstructionand
other requirements. Polyurethane foam, expanded
perlite, foam glass, polystyrene foam, PVC foam,
phenolic foam are commonly used as insulating
materials in LNG ship largely. Their physical
propertiesareshowninTable3.

a
b
c
d
e
f
g

material
Stainlesssteelfilm
Laminate
Enhancedfoam
Aluminumreinforcedplate
Enhancedfoam
Laminate
Hullshellplate

Thickness(mm)
1.2
12
100
1
170
9
15~22

Secondscheme:thereisa0.7mm6%nickelalloynon
expanded plate. And the membrane is made of
plywoodboxfilledwithperlitepowder.Thestructure

Compared with the thermal insulation material in

Table 3, each insulation material has its advantage.

ThermalStudyonLNGCargoTank7

ofinsulationlayersareshowninFIGURE3andTable
5.

Compared with advantages and disadvantages of the

two schemes above, considering with their
temperature field distributions come from finite
elementmodels,thesecondschemeofLNGcargotank
isbetterofalongtermtrend.
TABLE6.COMPARISONOFTWOINSULATIONSCHEMES
Secondinsulation
scheme
(1)insulationischeap
(1)lowstressbutshould
andsimple;
beconsistentwiththe
(2)weldingisrelatively
assemblytolerance;
simple;
Advantages
(2)thinfilmwith1.2mm (3)twofilmlayersare
thicknessincreasesthe
same;
strength;
(4)anythingonitcanbe
removed;
(1)theINVARisvery
(1)theinsulationlayer
expensive;
willbedestroyedby
(2)ittakesalongtimeto
anyremovalbecauseof
Disadvantages
installthefilm;
itsglueassembly;
(3)INVARthinfilmis
(2)thefoamis
veryfragile,itcannotbe
expensive;
touched;
Item

FIGURE3.DIAGRAMOFCARGOTANKINSULATION
STRUCTURE
TABLE5.DETAILSOFINSULATIONSTRUCTURE

a
b
c
d
e

material
36%nickelsteel
Woodeninsulatinglayer
36%nickelsteel
Woodeninsulatinglayer
Thecabinfloor

Thickness(mm)
0.7
230
0.7
300

Thermal Simulation of LNG Cargo Tank

With the help of Ansys finite element software, the
numerical simulation of LNG cargo tank first
scheme is finished. And its effectiveness is also
verified. In view of LNG tank is axial symmetry
structure, the numerical model of tank is simplified
symmetrical 1/4 part during its thermal analysis. The
element type is solid 87, after setting material
propertiesandthermalconductivity,thechamberwall
temperatureis163,andtheouterwalltemperature
is 29. Applying the boundary conditions, the
temperature field distribution of LNG cargo tank is
shown in FIGURE 4. Similarly, with the help of the
same software to set up a numerical simulation of
LNG cargo tank of second scheme, with the same
boundary conditions, the temperature field
distributionofLNGcargotankisshowninFIGURE4.

Firstinsulationscheme

Cooling Schemes of LNG Cargo Tank

BasedoninsulationdesignofLNGfilmcargotank,the
cooling scheme of LNG cargo tank before loading is
also important to LNG transportation. There are two
coolingschemesbelow.
First cooling scheme: cool the pipeline to 120~
110 with liquid nitrogen before LNG ship arrives.
Then, cool and affuse small flow LNG after LNG
ships arrival. Till cargo tank is filled, the LNG cargo
tankiscooledwithsprayringcoolingsystem.
Second cooling scheme: preliminary cool and
replacement the pipelines, storage tank/vault/annulus
withevaporationgasfirstly.Whenthereplacementof
natural gas content is more than 30% and the
temperature of standpipe reaches 120, the
replacementisfinished.Finally,coolandaffusesmall
flow LNG into pipeline and cargo tank. Two cooling
schemesarecomparedinTable7.
TABLE7.COMPARISONOFTWOCOOLINGSCHEMES

(a)Firstscheme(b)secondscheme
FIGURE4.TEMPERATUREDISTRIBUTIONMAPOFTWO
SCHEMES

Based on the temperature field distribution of two

schemes, two thermal insulation schemes of LNG
cargo tank can be compared more clearly, which are
listedinTable6.

Item
Firstcoolingscheme Secondcoolingscheme
Cooling
temperatureofliquid
temperatureof
temperature
nitrogenis196; evaporationgasis140;
Priceofcooling
liquidnitrogenis
evaporationgasis
medium
cheap;
expensive;
itcanshortenthe
theprecoolingmustbe
coolingtimewith
aftershiparrival,it
Coolingtime
precoolingbefore
cannotshortenthe
shipabord;
coolingtime;
thelimitedspaceof
theimplementationis
Dangerrate
operationcausesa
convenient,andtherisk

8LiRong,JinWenbing,ZhangJuyong,JinJialei,XuEndao

greaterriskof
implementation;

issmall;

ofLNGship.Technologyfoundationofnationaldefence.
2006,24(6):2535.

It is shown in Table 7, two cooling schemes can

achievelargeLNGcargotanktoalowtemperature.In
the first cooling scheme, it can precooling pipelines
with liquid nitrogen before LNG ship arriving. But
this scheme is a greater risk than second scheme,
because its limited operation space of nitrogen tank.
The second cooling scheme is convenient with small
risk,butitneedsmoretimeofcooling.Therefore,the
second cooling scheme becomes the final cooling
solution.

Li Yukang. Overview of LNG ship tank insulation

technology.Shanghaishipbuilding.2002,23(2):2330.
Patankar S V. Numerical heat transfer and fluid flow.
McGrawHill.1980,15(8):5575.
Qiu Lin. Study on LNG ship cargo tank insulatioin
technology and heat transfer. Shanghai maritime
university.2004.
R.S.Kvamsdal, S.Koren. Energy saving LNG carriers[J].
GASTECH81:171185.

Conclusions

Wang Yongwei, Wang Chuanrong, Wang Jing. Analysis on

three types of LNG storage system on ship. 2007,

Thispapermainlyanalyzestwotypesofcargotankon
LNG ship. Then two typical cargo containment
systemsarestudiedfromtheirstructuralmaterialsand
insulation structures. Based on this, we focus on film
cargo tank of a 147000m3 LNG ship to design its
insulation structure and its cooling scheme. It is of
certain reference value to actual manufacture film
cargotankonLNGship.

32(2):1520.

Rong Li is a lecturer at the School of Mechanical

Engineering, Hangzhou Dianzi University. She studies
thermal control of larger equipment currently. She received
aPhDinastronomicaltechiquesandmethodsfromNational
AstronmicalObservatories,ChineseAcademyofSciencesin
2010.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

WebingJinisascholarcandidateinmechanicalengineering
at the School of Mechanical Engineering, Hangzhou Dianzi
University.HecalculatesthermalmodelsofLNGcargotank.

The authors are grateful to the Zhejiang Provincial

Natural Science Foundation of China (No.
LQ13E060004);andtheZhejiangOpenFoundationof
the Most Important Subjects (No. 201205) for their
financialsupports.

Juyong Zhang is an associate professor at the School of

Mechanical Engineering, Hangzhou Dianzi University. He
studies structural design of larger equipment currently. He
receivedaPhDinastronomicaltechiquesandmethodsfrom
National Astronmical Observatories, Chinese Academy of
Sciencesin2007.

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