NASA/TM—2006-214346

Review of Current State of the Art and Key Design

Issues With Potential Solutions for Liquid Hydrogen
Cryogenic Storage Tank Structures for Aircraft
Applications

Subodh K. Mital
The University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio

John Z. Gyekenyesi
N&R Engineering, Cleveland, Ohio

Steven M. Arnold, Roy M. Sullivan, Jane M. Manderscheid, and Pappu L.N. Murthy
Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio

October 2006
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NASA/TM—2006-214346

Review of Current State of the Art and Key Design

Issues With Potential Solutions for Liquid Hydrogen
Cryogenic Storage Tank Structures for Aircraft
Applications

Subodh K. Mital
The University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio

John Z. Gyekenyesi
N&R Engineering, Cleveland, Ohio

Steven M. Arnold, Roy M. Sullivan, Jane M. Manderscheid, and Pappu L.N. Murthy
Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio

National Aeronautics and

Space Administration

Glenn Research Center

Cleveland, Ohio 44135

October 2006
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Available electronically at http://gltrs.grc.nasa.gov

 Contents
Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... 1
1.0 Introduction............................................................................................................................... 1
2.0 Key Challenges ......................................................................................................................... 3
2.1 Geometry and Size................................................................................................................ 3
2.2 Cryogenic Temperature ........................................................................................................ 3
2.3 Permeation ............................................................................................................................ 4
2.4 Hydrogen Embrittlement ...................................................................................................... 4
2.5 Safety Factors........................................................................................................................ 5
3.0 Previous Cryogenic Tank Applications .................................................................................... 5
3.1 Early Hydrogen-Fueled Aircraft ........................................................................................... 5
3.2 Saturn V ................................................................................................................................ 5
3.3 Space Shuttle External Tank................................................................................................. 6
3.4 NASP Tank ........................................................................................................................... 6
3.5 First Aircraft Application Fueled Solely by Hydrogen......................................................... 7
3.6 X–33 Liquid Hydrogen Tank................................................................................................ 7
3.7 NGLT Liquid Hydrogen Tank .............................................................................................. 8
3.8 Other Cryogenic Storage Applications ................................................................................. 9
4.0 Potential Design Solutions...................................................................................................... 10
4.1 Thermal Load Design: Insulation ....................................................................................... 11
4.2 Potential Structural Tank Materials and Architectures....................................................... 18
4.2.1 Tank wall material selection ........................................................................................ 19
4.2.2 Tank wall architecture.................................................................................................. 25
4.2.3 Liner............................................................................................................................. 27
5.0 Fabrication and Other Issues................................................................................................... 27
6.0 Summary and Recommendation ............................................................................................. 28
References..................................................................................................................................... 29
Appendix A—Acronyms .............................................................................................................. 33
Appendix B—Additional References ........................................................................................... 35
B.1 General Overview of Cryogenic Fluids and Systems ........................................................ 35
B.2 Materials in Relation to Cryogenic Systems ...................................................................... 36
B.3 Insulation Systems.............................................................................................................. 38
B.4 Tank Structure .................................................................................................................... 39
B.5 Other Relevant Issues and Hardware Related to Cryogenic Systems................................ 40

NASA/TM—2006-214346 iii
 Review of Current State of the Art and Key Design Issues With
Potential Solutions for Liquid Hydrogen Cryogenic Storage Tank
Structures for Aircraft Applications
Subodh K. Mital
The University of Toledo
Toledo, Ohio 43606

John Z. Gyekenyesi
N&R Engineering
Cleveland, Ohio 44130

Steven M. Arnold, Roy M. Sullivan, Jane M. Manderscheid, and Pappu L.N. Murthy
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Glenn Research Center
Cleveland, Ohio 44135

Abstract
Due to its high specific energy content, liquid hydrogen (LH2) is emerging as an alternative fuel for
future aircraft. As a result, there is a need for hydrogen tank storage systems, for these aircraft
applications, that are expected to provide sufficient capacity for flight durations ranging from a few
minutes to several days. It is understood that the development of a large, lightweight, reusable cryogenic
liquid storage tank is crucial to meet the goals of and supply power to hydrogen-fueled aircraft, especially
for long flight durations. This report provides an annotated review (including the results of an extensive
literature review) of the current state of the art of cryogenic tank materials, structural designs, and
insulation systems—along with the identification of key challenges—with the intent of developing a
lightweight and long-term storage system for LH2. The broad classes of insulation systems reviewed
include foams (including advanced aerogels) and multilayer insulation (MLI) systems with vacuum. The
MLI systems show promise for long-term applications. Structural configurations evaluated include single-
and double-wall constructions, including sandwich construction. Potential wall material candidates are
monolithic metals as well as polymer matrix composites and discontinuously reinforced metal matrix
composites. For short-duration flight applications, simple tank designs may suffice. Alternatively, for
longer duration flight applications, a double-wall construction with a vacuum-based insulation system
appears to be the most optimum design. The current trends in liner material development are reviewed in
the case that a liner is required to minimize or eliminate the loss of hydrogen fuel through permeation.

1.0 Introduction
The interest in developing aircraft utilizing alternative energy sources such as hydrogen is driven
primarily by the fact that hydrogen provides low to zero emission of environmentally harmful products.
Among the applications being considered, flight durations can range from several minutes to many days.
A couple of current NASA unmanned long-flight-duration aircraft are illustrated in figure 1. Specifically,
NASA’s Helios HP03 vehicle was a solar-powered unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) utilizing a
regenerative fuel cell system for energy storage. It was capable of flight durations as long as a month but
with a limited payload capacity of 230 kg (550 lb) that had to be distributed along the wings, and it could
fly at a peak altitude of approximately 21 km (70 000 ft).
Commercial aircraft applications are likely to have a flight duration on the order of a few hours. The
push for a larger payload capacity and longer flight durations requires the use of a higher specific power

NASA/TM—2006-214346 1
propulsion system with improved overall efficiency. The systems currently being investigated include the
use of fuel cells with electric motors and internal combustion engines. Current preliminary mission
requirements that are pushing the long-flight-duration hydrogen aircraft development include a 14-day
(336-h) flight duration with a payload capacity that is sufficient to accommodate the instrumentation
required for the various missions.
Hydrogen offers the most energy per unit mass of the various types of liquid and gaseous fuels as
noted by Thomas (2000). Hydrogen stored as a liquid significantly enhances its energy per unit volume
relative to gaseous hydrogen (GH2). Gaseous hydrogen stored at 35 MPa (5 ksi) and 20 °C (68 °F) has
only one-third of the energy content per unit volume of liquid hydrogen (LH2) as illustrated by Thomas.
Although there is a weight penalty with the needed insulation for storing LH2 at a low pressure and
cryogenic temperature, it is less than the combined weight and volume penalty that comes with storing
GH2 at a high pressure. Another method for storing hydrogen in a compact and safe form is with a metal
hydride. Unfortunately, metal hydrides present a significant problem with excessive weight, precluding
their use in weight-sensitive applications such as flight vehicles.
Currently, cryogenic storage tank applications in aerospace applications, where weight is of prime
importance, are limited to short flight durations, such as with space launch vehicles. The cryogenic fluids
are transferred to the vehicle storage tanks just prior to the launch with the majority of the fluids being
depleted during the launch to orbit, on the order of a few minutes. The cryogenic fluids are depleted at a
rate where boiloff does not pose a significant problem. In these applications, lightweight foam insulation
is usually sufficient for the storage tanks. In deep space the heat transfer to the cryogenic fluid is
significantly less than at the ambient condition on the Earth’s surface, reducing the need for an ultra-low-
conductivity and heavy insulation system. It is for the aircraft with relatively long flight durations on the
order of days that provide the greatest engineering challenges to develop long-term and lightweight
hydrogen storage systems.
The need for reduced weight in combination with good insulating properties for long-term storage
provides a new challenge for cryogenic tank design as noted above. It provides an opportunity to apply
more advanced materials and structural concepts in an effort to reduce the overall weight and keep the
volume at an acceptable and practical magnitude.
This report addresses the structural and thermal components of the cryogenic storage tank system for
an aircraft. The following sections will cover the individual components of the tank system. After
detailing the key challenges next, the subcomponents of the tank system will be covered in the following
sections. Materials and their thermal and chemical compatibility with the environments involved with an
LH2 storage system will also be discussed. Construction techniques for the tank will be covered. This
includes evaluating metallic and polymer matrix composite (PMC) materials and the architecture used for
creating the tank. The potential use of liners will also be discussed. Other important areas of the tank
structure—including mounting methods for integrating the tank system with the airframe, stiffeners, fuel
slosh baffles, and ports—are not discussed in detail as they are outside the scope of this report. Insulation

NASA/TM—2006-214346 2
methods will be reviewed to determine an optimum system for the aircraft applications. More recent
developments with silica-based aerogels as an insulating material, as noted by Fesmire et al. (2001), will
also be evaluated. Lastly, a summary of the findings will be provided along with recommendations for
design or further investigation of promising systems. Appendix A provides a list of the acronyms used
throughout this report. Appendix B lists references for further reading on cryogenic storage tanks. These
references are separated into groups according to the component of the fuel tank system they refer to.

2.0 Key Challenges

The successful realization of future lighter weight and environmentally friendly aircraft require the
synergistic integration of a number of revolutionary and leading-edge technologies as well as the
development of novel engineering tools and manufacturing techniques. As mentioned above, there is a
particular interest in hydrogen-fueled aircraft with a flight duration of several days. Hydrogen can be
stored either in gaseous or liquid form. Gaseous hydrogen would require 5.6 times the volume compared
to that of LH2 when GH2 is stored at approximately 163 atm (2400 psi) and at a temperature of 15 °C
(60 °F). The excessive volume required, the weight of the container, and the safety issues related to high-
pressure storage preclude the use of GH2 as fuel for this application. Alternatively, metal hydrides can
store hydrogen compactly and safely, although these systems will be excessively heavy and thus
impractical. In addition, most metal hydride systems would take days or even weeks to recharge. The
MgNi hydrides can achieve approximately 5 percent hydrogen by weight but require higher temperatures
to activate the bed. The metal hydride issues were summarized by Brewer (1991), who noted their current
impracticality for aero applications. Liquid hydrogen in a saturated state is a viable option for long-flight-
duration aircraft. However, the design of a cryogenic LH2 storage tank, coupled with the use of LH2 as
aircraft fuel, involves many challenges. Some of the key challenges including geometry, temperature,
permeation, hydrogen embrittlement, and safety factors are briefly discussed below.

2.1 Geometry and Size

Even though LH2 has a high heat of combustion, its low density coupled with the potential long flight
duration and the use of a nonregenerative storage system may result in a need for large tank volume. A
nonintegral (i.e., not loaded as part of the aircraft’s structure) large tank means higher frontal and surface
area, which will result in higher drag. Successful configurations will require innovative designs with
small frontal and surface areas. Large tanks with curved surfaces using advanced materials for wall
construction and insulation similarly pose manufacturing difficulties due to the sheer size and volume.
Integration of a large tank on an airplane is in itself a significant challenge. Integral tanks, alternatively,
require a complex architecture and will pose many manufacturing challenges. Integral tanks serve as the
aircraft structure and carry fuselage loads as well as providing for fuel containment. Nonintegral tanks
serve only as fuel containers and are mounted within and supported by a conventional airframe (Brewer,
1991). As mentioned previously, nonintegral tanks do not have to conform to the shape of the aircraft;
their architecture can be relatively simple like spherical or cylindrical. Spherical-shaped tanks provide
minimum surface area for a given volume, so the passive heat into the tank can be minimized, which
minimizes the boiloff of LH2. However, the spherical shape poses some unique manufacturing difficulties
and has a higher frontal surface area, resulting in higher drag forces compared with a cylindrical-shaped
tank. Alternatively, cylindrical shapes are easier to manufacture but have a higher surface area to volume
ratio thus resulting in a higher passive heat load into the tank.

2.2 Cryogenic Temperature

The normal boiling point of LH2 is –252 °C (–423 °F). The LH2 needs to be kept below this
temperature to minimize boiloff, that is, the loss of fuel and buildup of pressure within the tank. During
ground operations, the maximum temperature difference between the inside and outside of the tank

NASA/TM—2006-214346 3
structure is expected to be as high as ΔT = 300 °C (540 °F). Lightweight, low-conductivity insulation is
obviously necessary to maintain such a large temperature gradient. As mentioned before, most previous
applications of cryogenic fuels such as LH2 were limited to a short duration of a few minutes as in launch
vehicles where the problem of fuel boiloff is not critical. However, for long-duration flights, excessive
boiloff is very undesirable and limits the flight duration of the aircraft. Hence, the amount of passive heat
that goes into the tank and causes the LH2 to boil off needs to be limited. Storage of LH2 on the ground
has similar problems and requires specialized equipment and procedures to handle it. It has been
established that if the LH2 is maintained at a constant absolute pressure of approximately 170 kPa
(25 psia), the boiloff will be kept at an acceptable level and without an excess weight penalty on the tank
design (Brewer, 1991). In addition, the tank and any connecting lines or attachments will need to be
completely isolated from the outside atmosphere because all gases, with the exception of helium, solidify
at the temperatures of LH2 and raise the potential for obstructing the flow lines and other components.

2.3 Permeation
As hydrogen molecules are very small, they are extremely prone to permeating through the tank wall.
The permeation by hydrogen is perhaps the most critical issue in the tank design. Metallic tanks are an
obvious solution to this problem, as hydrogen permeates metals at a slower rate than through the
nonmetallic materials. For an aircraft, however, the metallic tank mass may limit its payload capacity and
flight duration. A PMC tank using a thin metallic liner would also solve the permeability problem, but the
weight may still be an issue. Furthermore, the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) mismatch between
the composite tank wall and the metallic liner will cause them to contract differently, possibly inducing
stresses in the material that may result in separation of the liner from the tank and/or fracture of the liner,
thus making such a design undesirable.
Hydrogen permeation studies performed during the National Aerospace Plane program were
encouraging, and it was shown that composite tanks without any liner were sufficiently impermeable.
However, the failure of the PMC LH2 tank of the X–33 demonstrator project during ground testing was
thought to be initiated by the microcracking of the polymer matrix in the composite inner skin of the tank
structure (Grimsley et al., 2001). The microcracking of the composite resulted from the CTE mismatch in
the carbon fiber and the polymer matrix in combination with a large difference between use and
composite fabrication temperatures. The microcracks provided a path for the pressurized hydrogen to leak
or permeate through the wall and enter the honeycomb core. When heated, the matrix cracks closed, the
liquid evaporated and the resulting gases having no place to escape caused a rise in pressure and eventual
delamination of the core from the inner composite skin.
Lately, there have been some studies to evaluate polymeric films and coatings that could be applied to
the composite inner skin and act as a barrier to contain the LH2 in the tank. The task of fabricating light-
weight and impermeable tanks using advanced materials for a cryogenic application is a challenging one.

2.4 Hydrogen Embrittlement

Many materials when exposed to hydrogen in large concentrations become embrittled. The effect of
hydrogen on material behavior has been well documented (e.g., Moody and Thompson, 1990). This is a
type of material deterioration. As a material becomes more brittle, its reliable load-carrying capacity and
ductility are reduced. Thus, catastrophic failures can occur without significant deformation or obvious
deterioration of the structural component. This limits the use of many advanced materials in the tank wall
construction. Breakthrough material technologies are necessary to overcome these issues. Tensile stresses,
a susceptible material, and the presence of hydrogen are necessary to cause hydrogen embrittlement.
Hydrogen embrittlement can result in cracking at stress levels significantly below yield stresses. While
hydrogen embrittlement is documented most for high-strength steels, all materials possess a certain
degree of susceptibility. Resistance to hydrogen embrittlement should be a significant consideration for
tank wall materials.

NASA/TM—2006-214346 4
 2.5 Safety Factors
The use of mandated safety factors in the range of 1.4 to 2.0, which are usually augmented by
conservative material strength estimates (such as A-basis allowables), make it very difficult to achieve a
lightweight design. This is particularly true when nontraditional advanced materials are used in the
construction of such structures. Furthermore, new and/or advanced materials are not very well
characterized, especially at cryogenic temperatures, and manufacturing and fabrication processes
introduce additional variability in the material properties. All of this causes the material properties to
show a significant scatter, necessitating significant difference between average measured and allowable
values. Future tank structures will certainly require innovative designs calibrated with tests and include
integrated health-monitoring techniques to reduce the explicit and implicit safety factors.
In summary, it poses a major challenge to find the right balance among (1) minimizing the weight of
a durable tank structure that carries the required amount of fuel, (2) surviving the required number of
mission cycles involving fuel fill and drain cycles and their corresponding thermomechanical loading, and
(3) creating a design that can actually be manufactured, inspected, and used with confidence.

3.0 Previous Cryogenic Tank Applications

Research in the area of storage of LH2 for aircraft and spacecraft has been conducted for many years.
With aircraft and spacecraft having similar requirements, a brief summary follows for past aerospace
cryogenic tank applications in chronological order. Other applications, including mobile and stationary
ground-based storage applications, are also summarized.

3.1 Early Hydrogen-Fueled Aircraft

One of the earliest documented applications of cryogenic hydrogen storage tank and hydrogen fueling
application for a flight vehicle was reported by Hall and Silverstein (1955) and Reynolds (1955). A U.S.
Air Force twin engine B–57 bomber was modified to have one engine operate on hydrogen. This was part
of a program at NASA Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio (formerly Lewis Research Center), to
demonstrate the characteristics of hydrogen combustion in an aeronautical gas turbine application as
noted by Brewer (1991): Brewer had provided an extensive overview of the needs and the status of
technology for utilizing LH2 for aircraft. It should be noted that the emphasis of the program was on the
successful operation of a gas turbine engine on hydrogen; hence, there was no emphasis to develop a
lightweight cryogenic storage tank system.

3.2 Saturn V
The Saturn V rocket was NASA’s heavy launch vehicle used during the 1960s and 1970s. The
Saturn V rocket used aluminum tanks with foam insulation. The single-wall metallic tank with foam
insulation is fairly representative of typical Earth-to-orbit launch vehicles using LH2 as propellant. Being
an Earth-to-orbit launch vehicle made it a short-duration storage situation. The upper two stages of the
Saturn V engine utilized LH2 along with liquid oxygen (LO2) as the propellants. Glaser (1967) showed the
second stage consisting of an aluminum wall, surrounded by a foam infiltrated honeycomb core, then a
nylon phenolic coating, and a final layer of Tedlar (DuPont) plastic film for protection from aerodynamic
heating. The foam was purged with helium. Glaser described the third stage as using foam on the inside of
the tank wall. The location of the foam reduced the need for special methods and adhesives for mounting
the foam. As a result, the tank wall operated at a higher temperature and did not need protection from
aerodynamic heating. A vapor and liquid barrier was incorporated at the inside surface of the insulation.

NASA/TM—2006-214346 5
 3.3 Space Shuttle External Tank
From the early 1980s to the present, NASA used the space shuttle as their heavy launch vehicle,
where the space shuttle’s external tank (ET) is a state-of-the-art lightweight cryogenic storage structure
that is currently in service. The ET is a load-bearing structure within the space shuttle system. It is
designed to carry the weight of the LH2 and LO2, the load from the shuttle orbiter, and the loads from the
solid rocket boosters (SRB). In addition, the liquid cryogenic fluids are stored under pressure of
approximately 2 atm. The ET is an expendable component that is filled just prior to the launch, and is
used for the short duration in taking the shuttle from the launch pad to low Earth orbit in approximately
8.5 min. The weight of LH2 stored is 1.0 MN (228 000 lb) with a boiloff rate of approximately 4.4 N/s
(1 lb/s) upon stabilizing the tank (P. Rogers, 2006, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL,
personal communication) which corresponds to approximately 1.6 percent by weight of LH2 per hour.
The pressurized portion of the ET is constructed with an aluminum-lithium alloy, 2195. The original
aluminum alloy was 2219, which was later substituted with the aluminum-lithium alloy 2195 as described
by Bickley and Schwinghamer (1999). The aluminum-lithium alloy provides an increase in strength and a
slight reduction in density relative to the previously used 2219 alloy. Figure 2 illustrates an exploded view
of the space shuttle ET. In addition, the materials of the key components are also noted in figure 2. The
ET is an aluminum semimonocoque structure of fusion-welded barrel sections, five major ring frames,
and forward and aft ellipsoidal domes according to Petty (2006). Thermal protection is provided by
spray-on foam and premolded ablator materials. At NASA’s Web site on the ET, Petty provides a good
overview of the tank.
3.4 NASP Tank
The joint U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) and NASA effort to develop a National Aerospace Plane
(NASP) during much of the 1980s included an attempt to develop lightweight cryogenic storage tanks for
a single-stage Earth-to-orbit vehicle. Some of the NASP efforts were summarized by Cope and
Thorndyke (1992) and Hellwig et al. (1992). NASP was originally a feasibility study for a
single-stage-to-orbit vehicle that could take off and land horizontally, as summarized by Jenkins et al.
(2003). The potential prototype was designated the X–30. The program’s scope was modified later to
develop a hypersonic intercontinental aircraft.

NASA/TM—2006-214346 6
 The demanding requirements of a single-stage-to-orbit vehicle or hypersonic intercontinental
aerospace vehicle enhanced the importance of weight savings. The NASP project used a multilobed
composite tank for storing LH2. It was an early attempt for using PMCs with cryogenic fluids for weight
savings relative to the more common metallic structures. The tank was fabricated from a thin shell
carbon-fiber-reinforced epoxy matrix composite with stiffening elements as reported by Hellwig et al.
(1992). In addition, the tank utilized internal restraints to reduce tank wall deformations upon
pressurization (Lohmueller, 1992) and did not have any liner (Robinson, 1994).

3.5 First Aircraft Application Fueled Solely by Hydrogen

Brewer (1991) described the first aircraft to be completely powered on hydrogen fuel. The flight took
place on June 19, 1988. Previous aircraft utilized multiple engines having only one engine running on
hydrogen. The aircraft, described by Brewer, used a cylindrical storage tank with ellipsoid end caps for
the LH2. The tank was fabricated from Type 304 stainless steel. The container was mounted within an
aluminum outer jacket and supported at multiple points by low-conductivity spacers. The space between
the tank and jacket was evacuated to minimize the thermal conductivity and used MLI within the
evacuated space to minimize radiation heat transfer. However, the overall objective of the program was to
demonstrate a flight powered solely by a hydrogen-fueled engine, and not necessarily to develop a
lightweight LH2 storage tank for long duration.

3.6 X–33 Liquid Hydrogen Tank

The X–33 technology flight demonstration program was a natural progression following the NASP
project. NASA’s X–33 program was a significant project that utilized advanced materials and concepts in
an effort to enhance cryogenic storage tank technology. The suborbital X–33 was designed to demonstrate
advanced technologies that would dramatically increase launch vehicle reliability and lower the cost of
launching payloads to low Earth orbit. The X–33 vehicle was supposed to be the technology
demonstration vehicle for the VentureStar. Much of the work with the X–33 was summarized in a NASA
George C. Marshall Space Flight Center report (2000).
The X–33 vehicle had two LH2 fuel tanks, each being 8.7 by 6.1 by 4.3 m (28.5 by 20 by 14 ft) in
size. Figure 3 is a schematic view of X–33 and its tanks along with a photograph of an actual tank.
Hydrogen permeability studies performed during the NASP program were encouraging and it was thought
that composite tanks without any liner were sufficiently impermeable. The X–33 used a more complex
sandwich structure than the one used in the NASP program. The sandwich structure consisted of
graphite/epoxy inner and outer skins and a Hexcel Composites graphite/epoxy unvented core as described
by Dornheim (1999). It consisted of a multilobed and linerless configuration with integrally bonded,
woven composite joints. The tanks had three major subcomponents: the aft dome and bulkhead, the barrel

NASA/TM—2006-214346 7
section, and the forward dome and bulkhead. The tanks were also an integral structural part of the
vehicle’s primary body and would have had a very complex stress state. These tanks were tested at NASA
Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, during November 1999 to verify structural integrity
of the LH2 tanks under cryogenic temperature and various pressure and mechanical loading conditions
anticipated as typical for use in the X–33 vehicle.
After the successful completion of the first prototype pressure and load test, the test article was
drained of its LH2 and a purge of the tank began. Approximately 15 min after the tank was drained,
failure occurred: the outer face sheet and the core of one of the lobes separated from the inner face sheet.
It was determined that the test procedures and parameters were all within the design limits of the test
article.
An investigation team was assembled and listed the most probable cause of the failure as a
combination of following phenomena (NASA Marshall report, 2000):
(1) Microcracking of inner facesheet with subsequent GH2 infiltration
(2) Influx of exterior nitrogen purge gas into the vacuum and subsequent liquifaction upon contact
with cryogenic boundary
(3) Reduced bondline strength and toughness
(4) Manufacturing flaws and defects
(5) Infiltration of GH2 into the core, which produced higher than expected core pressure
The last phenomenon was an unexpected contributor to the failure mechanism. The tank design
pushed the limits of technology and combined many unproven technology elements, creating a very
complex system. The use of a conformal composite tank not only to carry propellant but to transfer
structural loads was a rather bold decision at the time. The manufacturing process revealed some of the
complexities associated with the scaleup of large composite structures that were not understood
previously. The main lesson learned from this experience was the phenomenon and significance of
microcracking of composite facesheets of cryogenic tanks under thermal and mechanical loads. The
failure of the X–33 demonstrator during ground testing was summarized by Grimsley et al. (2001), and it
revealed that hydrogen permeation into the core of the composite sandwich structure through matrix
microcracks caused the failure.
However, it was mentioned by the failure investigation team (NASA Marshall report, 2000) that the
results of the investigation do not invalidate the use of composite materials for cryogenic tanks. The
lessons learned from this test, if applied to composite cryogenic tank technology in terms of design and
manufacturing, should advance the technology and aid in the successful use of composites for future
cryogenic tanks. Near the end of the program, it was decided to continue with an aluminum alloy
hydrogen tank for the X–33 demonstrator upon encountering difficulties with the PMC tank.
The X–33 program highlighted the areas that need further investigation and development including
addressing composite microcracking, use of liners, and other tank wall construction details.

3.7 NGLT Liquid Hydrogen Tank

The Next Generation Launch Technology (NGLT) program was a followup to the X–33 program to
continue development of the next generation of reusable aerospace vehicles. The NGLT effort built on the
experiences with the X–33. A preliminary analysis of a tank design concept was performed by Abumeri
et al. (2004) under NASA’s NGLT program. The design concept consisted of a PMC tank with thin walls
and additional stacks of laminates internally forming longitudinal stiffeners. Another investigation by
Robinson et al. (2004) illustrated studies to determine the tank architecture for the next reusable launch
vehicle. Results from these types of research activities led to the carbon fiber composite tank with a
honeycomb core sandwich structure used with the X–33 and the NGLT effort. With more research a
barrier film on the interior wall was introduced with the NGLT work.
As a followup to the X–33 cryogenic tank designs, NASA and Northrop Grumman designed and
completed tests of a scaled-down composite cryogenic tank at Marshall. These tanks were an integral part

NASA/TM—2006-214346 8
of the key reusable elements of NASA’s NGLT program. These tank designs were also integral to the
airframe; that is, they carried launch loads and wing loads in addition to the propellant. The quarter-scale
cylindrical tank 4.6 m (15 ft) long and 1.8 m (6 ft) in diameter was pressurized to about 779 kPa
(113 psi). This test pressure is about four times the operating pressure in the actual full size tank to induce
similar wall stresses encountered during launch due to fluid loads, acceleration loads, and so forth. Test
plans had called for the tank to be chilled, refilled, and stressed about 40 times in a period of a few
months (Glass, 2004, and Sharke, 2004). These tests were successfully completed according to a news
release by the NASA contractor Northrop Grumman (McKinney and Neiwert, 2004).
Based on the X–33 experience, the NGLT tanks utilized an impermeable barrier film between the
inner tank wall and the honeycomb. Once again, based on the findings of the X–33 tank investigation
report, many tiny holes were laser drilled in the honeycomb core, which permitted evacuation of the
interior wall volume and provided a means of preventing localized pressure buildup due to any hydrogen
that did manage to permeate past this barrier.
In an effort to process and manufacture large-scale composite structures, a process without the use of
an autoclave curing was investigated. In this effort, a single-piece half tank was fabricated without an
autoclave and tested. This project was also an example of a short-duration application of the cryogenic
tank technology.
The NGLT program was instrumental in developing large conformal composite cryogenic tanks that
can be fabricated without an autoclave and are suitable for use on a single-stage-to-orbit vehicle. Such
technological developments will play a crucial part in the development of civilian hydrogen-fueled
aircraft as well as space launch vehicles.

3.8 Other Cryogenic Storage Applications

There is ongoing research for low-cost lightweight cryogenic storage for ground transportation.
Ground transportation vehicles have requirements for long-term storage similar to those for the needed
durations of civilian aircraft. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has had a long history of working
with hydrogen as a fuel for transportation systems. One effort included a LH2-fueled automobile as
presented by Stewart (1982). That effort utilized a more conventional design storage tank, that is, a
metallic tank with MLI insulation. System weight is an important issue with ground transportation, such
as automobiles, but not to the degree as it is with air- and space-based vehicles. Overall cost tends to be a
significant driving force along with the low-weight requirements.
Other automotive projects are briefly summarized by DaimlerChrysler (2004). An example of an
automotive cryogenic tank is presented by Magna Steyr (2005), which is part of a collaborative effort
between BMW AG, Linde AG, and Magna Steyr, consisting of a double-walled tank made of austenitic
steel. The volume between the walls uses MLI and is held at a high vacuum of 10–9 bar. This is similar to
the early DOE project design presented by Stewart (1982).
Stationary ground-based storage facilities do not have the strict weight and size restrictions imposed
by mobile systems. Thus, such tanks can also be made from austenitic steel surrounded by a vacuum
jacket with MLI. Also, a refrigeration unit can be utilized for long-term storage. However, hydrogen
storage tank systems used in aircraft require the use of extremely lightweight construction. The need for
lightweight, well-insulated flight-worthy storage systems poses a true engineering challenge.
It should be noted that many of the research and development efforts, including the NASP, X–33,
and NGLT, were for applications that require relatively short durations for operation. The short duration
allows for greater losses due to leaks and boiloff relative to the long-term flight duration hydrogen aircraft
application. Many of the applications mentioned above focused on propulsion systems operating on
hydrogen. As a result, minimal details of the structural designs of the storage systems used in those
applications were provided in the published reports. Although the above-mentioned launch vehicle
programs did advance the technology for lightweight cryogenic storage tanks, there is still a need to
develop a tank-insulation system that is lightweight and able to keep leakage and boiloff to an
acceptable level.

NASA/TM—2006-214346 9
 4.0 Potential Design Solutions
Previous developments dealing with the design of cryogenic LH2 tanks had a requirement that the
propellant had to be maintained and stored for a relatively short duration of time, as it is consumed rather
quickly—generally on the order of minutes. Because of the short cycle time, a higher boiloff rate is
acceptable. For example, space shuttle operation accepts a loss rate of approximately 1.6 percent of LH2
by weight per hour as noted previously. Alternatively, for an aircraft application, especially long flight
durations, an acceptable rate of boiloff of LH2 is on the order of 0.1 percent by weight per hour (M.
Millis, 2005, NASA Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, OH, personal communication). The current task
seeks the development of cryogenic tanks that can hold the LH2 for significant periods of time ranging
from a few hours to several days. As noted earlier, durable, lightweight cryogenic propellant storage and
feed systems are critical to enable the development of hydrogen-fueled aircraft. Other areas not
considered in this report that are also critical include tank penetration schemes, feed lines, transfer lines,
and instrumentation.
Here we will discuss in greater detail the key components of a lightweight LH2 storage system.
System requirements will be discussed that are dependent upon flight duration. Short flight durations are
defined as those that are on the order of minutes to hours. Alternatively, long flight durations are those
lasting from a few hours to days. The components that are covered individually include the insulation,
structural tank wall, and tank wall liner. Also, a section on fabrication and other relevant issues is
included. The available materials relevant to the components are discussed within each section.
Multiple design configurations can be envisioned from a single tank with insulation to hybrid tanks
with either insulating materials or pure vacuum in between walls or various combinations thereof. The
overall objective of the design is to have a safe, lightweight, thermally efficient cryogenic storage system.
Some important tank system parameters relative to flight durations are presented in table I. The materials,
tank structural configurations, and insulation system options are numerous and interdependent. One
approach to reduce the number of design choices is to turn to the concept of performance indices (e.g.,
material and structural), as put forth by Ashby (2005). Consequently, the objective of this section is to
help guide the reader in downselecting a class of materials and structural configurations that result in
optimum performance. The order of importance of the key tank parameters listed in table I is dependent
on a specific application in general and flight duration in particular.

TABLE I.—IMPORTANT TANK SYSTEM PARAMETERS

RELATIVE TO FLIGHT DURATION
[Listed in order of importance.]
Short Mass density
flight Strength and toughness
duration Coefficient of thermal expansion
Stiffness
Thermal diffusivity
Thermal conductivity
Long Mass density
flight Thermal conductivity
duration Strength and toughness
Coefficient of thermal expansion
Stiffness
Thermal diffusivity

The performance, P, of a structural element is a function of three, typically independent, aspects: the
functional requirements F, the geometry G, and the properties of the material M of which it is made.
P = f (F, G, M) (1)

NASA/TM—2006-214346 10
 When this group of parameters is said to be separable,

P = f1 (F) ⋅ f2 (G) ⋅ f3 (M) (2)

These parameters are assumed to be independent of each other; that is, the optimal choice of materials
is independent of geometry of the structural component. One may be able to identify the optimal subset of
materials without solving the complete design problem. Subsequently, we utilize the particular material
index and possibly other indices to assist us in downselecting the various options available. The key
material indices applicable for both thermal and mechanical issues of interest here are shown in table II.
TABLE II.—PERFORMANCE INDICES FOR THERMAL AND MECHANICAL COMPONENTS
OF CRYOGENIC STORAGE TANK
Function and constraints Performance index, maximizea
Thermalb
Minimum heat flux at steady state, fixed thickness 1/k
Minimum temperature rise in specified time, fixed thickness 1/a
Maximum energy stored for given temperature rise and time k a
1
2

Minimum thermal distortion k/α

Mechanical
Strength-limiting design with minimum mass σf ρ
Damage-tolerant design with minimum mass K Ic ρ
Deformation-limiting design with minimum mass E/ρ
a
k = thermal conductivity
⎛ k ⎞
a = thermal diffusivity ⎜ ⎟
⎜ ρC p ⎟
⎝ ⎠
ρ = mass density
Cp = specific heat
α = coefficient of thermal expansion
σφ = strength
KIc = mode I fracture toughness
E = Young’s modulus
b
Time, t = w2 2a with w = thickness.

As mentioned earlier in this report, the functional requirements are that LH2 be maintained between
its freezing and boiling points, –259 °C (–435 °F) and –253 °C (–423 °F), respectively. The temperature
difference between ambient conditions and LH2 can be as high as ΔT = 300 °C (540 °F). Another vital
concern is tank wall and/or liner permeation by hydrogen or just leakage of the hydrogen through
microrcracks. Material selection for the tank wall and the need for a liner will be based partially on the
material’s ability to contain the LH2 for the required duration under the conditions discussed above. These
issues will be covered under the sections for the tank wall structure and the liner. There are other
important issues associated with the cryogenic tank design such as vapor management (a proper vent
system), fuel transfer, pumping a saturated cryogenic fluid such as LH2, and the possibility of the cold
energy utilization. However, these issues are beyond the scope of this report and thus will not be
discussed here.

4.1 Thermal Load Design: Insulation

As previously discussed, an appropriate thermal insulation system is critical for LH2 storage tanks,
particularly for long-duration applications. An efficient and lightweight insulation system will minimize
the boiloff of LH2 while adding minimum mass to the overall tank structure. Another function of

NASA/TM—2006-214346 11
insulation is to prevent condensation and subsequent solidification of atmospheric gases onto the tank.
This can be overcome by using either a vacuum-jacketed system or by using a purged system (such as
helium purged), where a noncondensable gas has replaced the air. Maintaining an adequate vacuum level
is one of the major difficulties with a vacuum jacket system and of course becomes more difficult as
higher vacuum levels are required to maintain the thermal properties. An additional issue is the ability of
the insulation system to handle dimensional variations due to the imposed thermal cycles as a result of
filling it with cryogenic hydrogen. Consequently, the CTE mismatches between the components of the
tank system are key factors. When designing a tank system, the issues related to the CTE mismatches
between the tank wall components should be evaluated and accounted for in the design. Additionally,
mechanical compression of the insulation system may occur due to weight, the pressure differential across
the insulation, shock and vibration, dimensional changes, or any combination of these loads and reduce its
effectiveness. An insulation system is said to have low contact resistance if its thermal conductivity is
sensitive to the compression load placed on it. Finally, it is desirable that an insulating system and its key
constituents possess a low thermal conductivity along with low thermal diffusivity and low mass density.
It is also desirable to have a low radiation heat transfer coefficient.
Constructing material property diagrams that enable one to assess the thermal and mechanical
performance indices in table II will provide insight in designing an efficient insulation scheme for long-
duration flights. As noted earlier, performance indices can aid in narrowing the viable choices of
engineering materials and systems for an insulation system for a long-term lightweight cryogenic fluid
storage structure. Figure 4 shows a plot of thermal conductivity versus mass density, as the low weight
requirement for an aircraft application is crucial. For a long-term application, a low thermal conductivity
is extremely important. Insulating schemes that utilize materials like low-density polymer foams,
including newer aerogel materials, are desirable as can be noted in figure 4. Also from figure 4, the
current silica aerogels have a range of thermal conductivities and densities that place them near the family
of foams. Combination of a vacuum jacket and MLI has a range of densities that is comparable to low
density foams and an apparent thermal conductivity that is approximately two orders of magnitude lower
than the best low-conductivity foams (beyond the range available in fig. 4).
Figure 5 shows a plot of thermal conductivity versus thermal diffusivity for a variety of materials.
MLI offers a thermal diffusivity that is comparable to the family of metals but an apparent thermal
conductivity that is approximately two orders of magnitude lower than the polymer foams. For a given
insulation thickness, one should select a system with the lowest thermal conductivity to minimize steady-
state heat flux and a low thermal diffusivity, that is, high specific heat, to maximize the time required for
thermal energy to reach the cryogenic fluid. The following equation relates the time to reach steady state,
t, with wall thickness, w, and thermal diffusivity, a.
For a given wall thickness, it is desirable to minimize the thermal diffusivity in order to maximize the
time it takes to reach a steady-state condition especially for short-duration applications. As per table II,
minimizing the ratio k/a½, where k is the thermal conductivity, results in maximizing the energy stored in
a material for a given temperature rise and time. It maximizes the time required for heat to reach the
stored cryogenic fluid.

w2
t= (3)
2a

NASA/TM—2006-214346 12
NASA/TM—2006-214346 13
 Figure 6 shows thermal conductivity versus thermal expansion coefficient for different material
systems. The authors of this report have added an approximate aerogel regime to the figure based on the
data from M.A. Meador (2005, Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, OH, personal communication). This
chart is useful for assessing thermal distortion. The value of k/α, where α is the CTE, can be used as a
measure of thermal distortion. Materials with a large value of this index show small thermal distortion.
Insulating materials by their functionality, having low thermal conductivity values, show large thermal
gradients and consequently high thermal distortion. Thus, materials exhibiting low thermal conductivity
and secondarily having a low CTE are desirable. The high thermal distortion may lead to a comparatively
large relative displacement, which can induce stress within the insulating material that can exceed the
material strength. Mechanical failure can lead to degradation in thermal properties of the insulating
system. Once a class of materials has been chosen based on their thermal performance, materials with the
lowest value of α should be used to minimize thermal distortion and the resulting induced stresses. Low
thermal conductivity is an important property for any insulation system, especially for a long-term
application. As a result, it can be noted from figure 6 that rigid polymer foams including aerogels are
viable insulation system as they provide low thermal conductivity. Aerogels within this group seem to
offer a lower CTE. As shown in figure 6, metallic materials offer lower CTEs, which will result in lower
distortions; however, their higher thermal conductivities (and densities) disqualifies them from
consideration as insulating materials.
It can be noted in figures 4 to 6 and the associated discussion, various foams and MLI systems
provide desirable material properties for aerospace applications. Given this information, it is not
surprising why previous investigators have chosen to use foams, perlites, aerogels, vacuum jackets, and

NASA/TM—2006-214346 14
MLI systems for cryogenic insulation systems. Table III shows a list of advantages and disadvantages of
various viable insulation systems in the order of increasing thermal performance.
TABLE III.—ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF VARIOUS INSULATION METHODS
[Listed in order of increasing thermal insulation performance.]
Location Discriminators
Foam
Outside Advantages Currently in use, well established
Low cost, easy to implement
Light weight and low density
Disadvantages Limited to short duration missions because of excessive thermal conductivity
Low resistance to thermal radiation
Potential damage from environmental hazards
Inside Advantages Low cost
Structural wall not exposed to cryogenic conditions
Reduced CTE mismatch issues of composite constituents, resulting in reduced microcracking
Disadvantages Necessitates larger structural tank wall, resulting in increased mass
Difficult to seal from cryogenic fluid
• Fluid infiltration leads to increased thermal conductivity
• Potential loss of structural wall integrity
May interfere with fluid management upon failure
Perlite
Between walls Advantages Low cost, well established
Some compressive load-bearing capability
Resistance against thermal conductivity and radiation
Disadvantages Limited to short duration due to excessive thermal conductivity
Excessive mass for aerospace applications
Aerogel
Between walls Advantages Extremely low thermal conductivitya
Disadvantages New material, not well characterized
Limited mechanical properties
Vacuum
Between walls Advantages Near zero thermal conductivity
Well established
Disadvantages Heavier tank walls required
Costly to implement and maintain
No resistance to radiation heat transfer
Near catastrophic failure upon loss of vacuum
MLI
Between walls Advantages Very low thermal conductivity and radiation heat transferb
Extremely low density
Well established
Disadvantages High vacuum required
Heavier tank walls required
Costly to implement and maintain
Near catastrophic failure upon loss of vacuum
a
The balance between the structural and thermal properties can be altered to optimize for the application.
b
MLI is available in graded form to improve thermal properties and to reduce the density, but at a higher cost.

Typical apparent thermal conductivity along with mass density and thermal diffusivity values for
various materials are summarized in table IV. The ranges in values for thermal conductivity of the various
materials are due to vacuum level and temperature differences. For example, MLI systems provide very
low values of apparent thermal conductivity on the order of 10–6 W/m⋅K (~6×10–7 Btu/ft⋅hr⋅°F). MLI
systems use a number of thermal radiation shields perpendicular to the direction of heat flow. The
radiation shields are alternating layers of a low-emissivity metal foil (usually aluminized Mylar (DuPont))

NASA/TM—2006-214346 15
and a thin insulating spacer (usually polyester or glass fiber paper) combined such that metal-to-metal
contact is avoided. However, there are stringent requirements that must be addressed when choosing an
MLI system. The foremost requirement for an MLI system is that a vacuum level below 13 mPa (10–4
torr) must be maintained for the MLI to maintain its effectiveness. Heat transfer by residual gas
conduction occurs under degraded vacuum conditions. Perforation holes in the Mylar layers are critical to
allow evacuation of residual gases upon setting up the vacuum insulation and/or MLI system. Also, its
thermal properties are highly anisotropic and sensitive to mechanical compression (low contact
resistance). An MLI system was first patented by Matsch (1961).

TABLE IV.—THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY, MASS DENSITY, AND THERMAL DIFFUSIVITY VALUES

FOR VARIOUS MATERIALS AND INSULATING SYSTEMS
[Listed in order of increasing thermal conductivity.]
Material and/or system Thermal Mass Thermal
conductivity, density, diffusitivity,
k, ρ, I,
W/m⋅K kg/m3 m2/s
a
Multilayer insulation (MLI) in high vacuum 10–5 to10–8 (b) (b)
a –5
Vacuum (polished surfaces, minimum k value, <10 torr) 10–6 to 10–7 (b) (b)
a,c –2 –7
Aerogel 10 to 10 100 to 500 (b)
a –5 –6
Perlite powder 10 to 10 128 (b)
a –5 –6
Fiberglass 10 to 10 16 (b)
a
Cellular glass foam (–83 °C (–118 °F), 760 torr) 3.3×10–5 128 (b)
a –2 –4
Polyurethane foam 10 to 10 32 to 64 (b)
d –3 –2
Air 10 to 10 1.17 to 3.6 2.51×10–6
e –2
Polyvinylchloride (rigid, closed cell, –79 °C (–110 °F)) 1.5×10 49.7 (b)
e –2
Polymethacrylimide (rigid, closed cell, 6 °C (43 °F)) 3.1×10 35.2 (b)
d –3 –1
Hydrogen gas 10 to 10 0.08 to 0.25 10 to 10–5
–4

d –1
Polyimide 3.5×10 1430 2.20×10–7
d
Water (0 °C (32 °F)) 5.6×10–1 999.8 1.33×10–7
f
Polymer matrix composites 2 to 70 (b) (b)
d
Ice (0 °C (32 °F)) 2.2 917 1.15×10–6
d
Aluminum (20 °C (68 °F)) 237 to 302 2707 9.61×10–5
a
Augustynowicz et al., 1999.
b
Not available.
c
From M.A. Meador, 2005, NASA Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, OH, personal communication.
d
Lienhard IV and Lienhard V.
e
Brewer, 1991.
f
Smith, 2000.

Recent advances in MLI for cryogenic storage tanks have included the development of variable
density MLI (VD–MLI), where the layer spacing varies across the MLI cross section. Radiation heat
transfer generally dominates in the warmer outer layers of a standard MLI system, whereas conduction
plays a larger role within the colder inner layers. By spacing the inner layers further apart, both the VD–
MLI mass and thermal leaks are decreased. A hybrid spray-on foam insulation (SOFI) and VD–MLI
system for orbital applications has recently been tested by Hastings et al. (2004). This arrangement is
designed to rely on the SOFI at high pressures during ground hold and launch and on the MLI during
orbit. The 45-layer VD–MLI blanket ranged from 8 layers/cm (20 layers/in.) in the cold region to 16
layers/cm (41 layers/in.) in the warm region. Tests showed a reduction in boiloff of 41 percent, compared
with the standard MLI with 70 evenly spaced layers.

NASA/TM—2006-214346 16
 Another proposed insulation system was microsphere insulation, which consists of hollow glass
spheres of varying diameters and wall thicknesses. It is not as sensitive to vacuum conditions as MLI and
also provides some structural support with a minimal increase in its low thermal conductivity under
compressive loads. The effects of two interstitial gases, nitrogen and helium, at various pressures on the
apparent thermal conductivity of microsphere insulation have been experimentally evaluated and
correlated with analytical models by Cunnington and Tien (1978). Further efforts by Parmley and
Cunnington (1979) yielded design data for a flexible, stainless steel, vacuum-jacketed microsphere
insulation system. Current developments involve manufacturing autonomous evacuated microsphere
insulation panels, encased in a flexible vacuum-barrier film (Allen et al., 2004). These panels exhibit
thermal conductivity that is about one-half of the thermal conductivity of polyurethane foam.
Another class of materials that is being considered for cryo-insulation is silica aerogel. Silica aerogels
are high-porosity, very low density solids that consist of interconnected particles that form an “open”
microstructure. The thermal conductivity of silica aerogels tends to be very low, typically less than
40×10–3 W/m⋅K (23×10–3 Btu/ft⋅hr⋅°F), due to the very low thermal conductivity of silica as well as the
pore sizes that are on the order of nanometers. The extremely low thermal conductivity makes silica
aerogels very desirable for a wide variety of insulating applications. However, the same properties of
aerogels that make them extremely good insulators—high porosity and low density—also make them
inherently fragile and brittle. Thus, their use in load-bearing applications (such as cryogenic LH2 storage
tanks for flight applications) is challenging. Currently, research is underway on improving the mechanical
properties of aerogels without excessively sacrificing their other unique properties. However, it is
recognized that any improvement in mechanical properties comes at the expense of increased mass
density and thus, increased weight and thermal conductivity. One approach that has been taken by
Cunnington, Lee, and White (1997) is to create fiber/aerogel composites by adding a small volume
fraction (less than 5 percent) of short silica or silicon carbide fibers. The fibers reduce the transparency to
thermal radiation at temperatures higher than ambient, thus increasing the thermal performance. The
fibers also strengthen the aerogel. However, this approach is only significant when radiation is the
primary heat transfer mode, relative to the solid- and gas-phase conduction modes, which occurs at
temperatures greater than 27 °C (80 °F) and 127 °C (260 °F), respectively. Work is also going on at
NASA Glenn Research Center to develop cross-linked silica aerogels that are modified with epoxies to
develop a mechanically strong yet lightweight porous material (Meador et al., 2005, and Leventis et al.,
2003).
As an illustrative example, an approximate value for an apparent thermal diffusivity for an MLI
system is 9×10–6 m2/s (1.4×10–2 in.2/s) as presented by Geng and Macosko (1999). For a practical
thickness of 0.05 m (2 in.) of an MLI system, the time to reach steady state would be slightly greater than
2 min as per equation (3). This indicates that for most flight applications, the primary design issues of
heat transfer for practical thicknesses of MLI are conduction and radiation. Thermal diffusivity will not be
a controlling parameter.
Similarly, for a relatively dense aerogel system of a mass density of 0.48 g/cm3 (1.7×10–2 lb/in3), the
specific heat is 1.0 J/g⋅K (4.2 Btu/lb⋅°F) as per M.A. Meador (2005, NASA Glenn Research Center, OH,
personal communication). For a thermal conductivity value of 41×10–3 W/m⋅K (24×10–3 Btu/ft⋅hr⋅°F)
from table III, this results in an apparent thermal diffusivity value of 9×10–8 m2/s (1.4×10–4 in2/s). For a
practical thickness of 0.05 m (2 in.), the time to reach steady-state conditions is approximately 4 h. This
indicates that the system does not reach a steady-state condition for a typical short-duration flight. This
makes the thermal diffusivity of the insulation system a significant parameter. For long-duration
applications, the time to reach steady state may only be a small fraction of the total flight duration.
Therefore, the majority of the mission is in a near-steady-state condition. As a result, the governing
conditions for the insulation system are based on minimizing the heat flux under near-steady-state
conditions and hence are driven by the need to minimize the thermal conductivity, as well as mass
density, of the insulation system. This demonstrates that silica aerogels may find use in short-flight-
duration applications.

NASA/TM—2006-214346 17
 Because of a large temperature difference between the ambient conditions and the cryogenic fluid,
managing the radiation heat transfer becomes an important issue. The radiation heat flux, Q, can be
computed by using the following equation

(
Q = εσ T14 − T04 ) (4)

where ε is the emissivity (1 for black body), σ is the Stefan-Boltzmann constant (5.67×10–8 W/m2⋅K4) and
T1 and T0 are absolute temperatures across the insulation system. To get an approximate value of radiation
heat flux for this application, a typical emissivity value of 0.045 is assumed, which corresponds to a
highly polished aluminum surface; this, along with a ground-level condition T1 value of approximately
323 K and a LH2 temperature for T0 of approximately 21 K, the radiation heat flux (from eq. (2)) is
computed to be 28 W/m2. It is desirable to limit the total heat flux for this application to a maximum of 70
W. Based on the required tank geometry, this results in a maximum heat flux allowed into the tank of
approximately 4 W/m2. This shows that the radiation heat transfer plays an extremely important role in
total heat transfer in this application and needs to be controlled by using an appropriate insulation system
scheme.
As shown above, it has been illustrated that low thermal conductivity, low emissivity, and low mass
density are the most important parameters for an insulation system utilized in a long-term aerospace
application. These are the key properties that need to be measured for any insulation system. In addition,
low thermal diffusivity, low CTE, and an ability to accommodate the thermal distortions induced by large
thermal gradients are important considerations.
The current state of the art suggests that the use of a high vacuum with highly polished wall surfaces
with or without an MLI system could provide the required insulation needs for lightweight long-term
cryogenic applications. The MLI provides additional insulation against radiation heat transfer relative to a
simple vacuum jacket. However, either system is very sensitive and dependent on maintaining a very high
level of vacuum. Any degradation in the vacuum level significantly degrades the insulating properties,
leading to mission failure. Any currently available foam-based system, possibly including current
aerogels, may require continued enhancement in their thermomechanical properties for aircraft
application. Foam-based insulation may be appropriate for short-duration applications and possibly as a
supplementary system for longer duration applications.

4.2 Potential Structural Tank Materials and Architectures

The storage of LH2 in a lightweight tank provides significant challenges in itself. The lower density of
the hydrogen fuel results in the need for a higher volume storage vessel relative to other fuels. Mechanical
tank loads are derived from (1) the difference between the pressure within the tank and the ambient
conditions, (2) fuel weight, (3) vehicle acceleration loads, (4) fuel slosh due to aircraft maneuvers, and (5)
tank system weight and its supports. Fuel slosh is bound to be encountered as the aircraft maneuvers or as
it encounters air turbulence during the flight.
The internal tank pressure will have to be maintained at a constant absolute pressure in order to
maintain the hydrogen in a liquid state. The pressure will aid in pumping hydrogen from the tank to the
power source also. Hall and Silverstein (1955) have suggested that 2 atm (200 kPa, 29 psia) would be
adequate for pumping fuel at a cruise condition for an aircraft. It has also been documented by Petty
(2002) that the space shuttle ET operates in the pressure range of 220 to 230 kPa (32 to 34 psia), which is
close to the suggested range by Hall and Silverstein. Furthermore, the designed tank weight increases
with increasing operating pressure. Thus, it is highly desirable to keep the tank pressure as low as
possible, as noted by Reynolds (1955). Typically, GH2 is used as the pressurant for LH2.
Two important criteria for the tank wall include material selection and wall architecture. Many
options are available, and these are discussed in the following sections. Advantages and disadvantages of
various options are discussed, and guidelines are provided for choosing an optimum system.

NASA/TM—2006-214346 18
 4.2.1 Tank wall material selection.—Clearly it is desirable to use materials that possess high
strength, high fracture toughness, and high stiffness, as well as low density and low permeation to liquid
and gaseous hydrogen; however, no single material provides all these attributes simultaneously.
Consequently, material performance indices associated with these properties, such as those given in
table II, must be used to identify the best material candidates for tank wall construction. Among these
parameters, strength and density tend to dominate the design criteria. Figure 7 shows strength versus mass
density for various engineering materials. In this case, materials in the upper left corner are preferable.
Composite materials exhibit high specific strength relative to metals and are quite suitable for aerospace
applications. In particular, it is apparent from figure 7 that continuous-fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP)
composites provide the highest strength yet lightest choice. However, the use of continuous-fiber-
reinforced composite materials most likely will involve higher initial manufacturing costs. As per
figure 7, the materials that have the sufficient strength and acceptable low density are PMCs and metallic
materials. Ceramic materials also offer high specific strength, but because of their low fracture toughness,
they are not viable for a tank wall material.
A potential lower cost alternative to continuous-fiber-reinforced composites may be discontinuous
reinforced metallic composites (DRX), specifically discontinuous reinforced aluminum (DRA) as
described by Miracle (2001). DRAs are essentially isotropic and can be manufactured using less
expensive techniques such as casting. Figure 8 illustrates the specific modulus relative to specific
strength. In this figure, materials closer to upper right corner are desirable. DRX materials compare well
with polymer-based composite systems. The DRX materials have the added benefit of extremely low (if
not negligible) hydrogen gas permeability issues typically associated with polymer matrix composite
systems.

NASA/TM—2006-214346 19
 Key material properties that are important considerations for the design of high-pressure vessels but
may also be applicable to low-pressure cryogenic storage tanks are yield-before-break, KIc/σf, and the
leak-before-break, KIc2/σf. These can be derived from figure 9, where KIc is the fracture toughness and σf
is the strength of the material. Utilizing the first index ensures that the stress required to propagate a
critical flaw is greater than that to yield the material. In this way the vessel would deform stably in a way
that could be detected. The second criterion, used primarily on larger vessels, ensures that maximum
pressure carried would result in the stable growth of a crack just large enough to penetrate both the inner
and outer surface so that the leak could be detected prior to catastrophic failure. Note both indices can be
maximized by making the yield strength of the wall very small; however, this may not only limit the
pressure capability of the vessel, but it could also result in an excessively large wall thickness and thus a
very heavy tank. The tank thickness t is given by the following equation for thin-walled spherical tanks:

pR
t≥ (5)
2σ f

where p is the tank pressure, R the tank radius, and σf the strength of the tank material as designated in
figure 8. In order to minimize the tank mass, and realizing that the tank mass is directly proportional to the
tank wall thickness, it is desirable to choose a tank wall material that maximizes the specific limit strength.

NASA/TM—2006-214346 20
 Figure 10 shows a plot of two material performance indices
ρ
M1 = (6a)
σf

ρ
M2 = (6b)
K Ic

The first index M1 is based on the constraint that the wall material strength not be exceeded, while the
second material index M2 is based on the requirement that the fracture toughness of the material not be
exceeded. The mass of a thin wall spherical tank with a radius R and a wall thickness t is given by

m = 4πR 2 tρ (7)

The tensile stresses in the tank wall σw, due to internal pressure p are given by rearranging
equation (5):
pR
σ= (8)
2t
Minimizing the mass of the tank as shown in equation (7) subject to the above-mentioned constraints
provided by equation (6) leads to a coupling of the two performance indices given by

M 1 = (πc )½ M 2 (9)

NASA/TM—2006-214346 21
where c is the critical crack size for a given material. Figure 10 shows the appropriate chart with two
coupling lines corresponding to crack lengths of 5 mm and 5 μm. It shows that the choice of the material
may be limited by the ability to detect cracks of a given size. For example, the material choices will be
limited to monolithic metallic alloys if one can only detect cracks larger than 5 mm. However, as per
figure 10, other materials including ceramics and elastomers could be viable materials if cracks of 5 μm
or larger could be detected.
It should be noted that composite materials, in general, provide high fracture toughness along with
low mass density, which makes them desirable for this application. Fracture toughness becomes an issue
especially at cryogenic temperatures, where many materials become excessively brittle. Higher fracture
toughness materials are desirable as they provide more damage-tolerant systems. Any crack that
propagates into the insulation system can compromise the thermal properties of the insulation system—
resulting in the loss of the mission—as there will be rapid boiloff of the cryogenic fuel. Figure 11 presents
Young’s modulus E versus mass density ρ for various engineering materials. Although not a primary
design variable, it is desirable to choose a stiff material that will minimize the deformation under loads
while maintaining low mass. As before, PMCs and metallic materials provide desirable specific stiffness
for this application.
Analyzing figures 7 to 11, material options for the tank wall include metals, PMCs, and metal matrix
composites (MMCs). Composite materials may also include sandwich construction as well as nanosize
particulate reinforced materials. As noted by Esgar (1962), the strength to density ratio of the material has
to be as high as possible with the material having minimal fabrication issues and not susceptible to
catastrophic brittle fracture. Also, as noted in other parts of this report, hydrogen permeation of the tank
structure has to be kept to a minimum. Metals that have acceptable properties from ambient to cryogenic
temperatures include austenitic stainless steels, monels, and aluminum alloys as noted by Reynolds

NASA/TM—2006-214346 22
(1955). Also, titanium and copper offer acceptable properties for cryogenic service according to Vance
(1964).
There is an advantage to using a monolithic material for tank construction like in the cases mentioned
above. Using one material for the tank wall eliminates thermally induced internal stresses due to different
CTE factors of various materials such as the typical constituents of a PMC or MMC material. However,
most likely monolithic metallic tanks will not be as light as their PMC or DRX counterparts. A metallic
structure is fine for ground-based systems where weight is not as significant a constraint as for
aeronautics or space-based systems.
Composites, in particular PMCs, offer lower density and higher strength and stiffness than metals
used for cryogenic applications. It is estimated that composites can offer a 25 percent weight savings
relative to the latest monolithic aluminum tanks in this application, as reported by Sharke (2004).
Although, the resins used with polymer matrix composites do tend to enable higher hydrogen permeation
than metals. Brewer (1991) noted that conventional filament wound composite structures had not
traditionally been used for hydrogen tanks due to hydrogen diffusion through the interstices of the
bonding material over long durations. However, composite tank development began with the NASP
program. Robinson et al. (2002) reported that based on results from initial studies, hydrogen permeability
was not believed to be a technical barrier to the development of an unlined composite tank.
As mentioned in this section, tank design and analysis pose many challenges. In addition, aerospace
structural design is performed with a multitude of explicit and implicit safety factors. Sometimes, these
combined safety factors can more than double the weight of the structure. The metallic materials are
generally well-characterized unlike the newer advanced composite materials. With composite materials
being used in large temperature and moisture ranges, implicit safety factors are even higher because one

NASA/TM—2006-214346 23
must account for the wide range in measured properties. Safety factors pose a challenge for composite
structures when such designs are compared with all metallic structural designs.
Permeation of the PMCs by the hydrogen was noted throughout this report. Currently available PMCs
may not offer sufficient resistance to permeation by hydrogen. Another approach to address the
permeability issue is to use polymer-silicate nanocomposites, which are being developed at NASA Glenn
Research Center (Campbell et al., 2003). In addition, other research with carbon fiber nanoclay particle-
reinforced polymer matrix composites for cryogenic applications has been reported by Timmerman et al.
(2002, 2003). A T650–35 fiber, eight-harness satin-weave, eight-ply carbon fabric was used to reinforce a
thermoplastic (BPADE–BAPP) polyimide/silicate nanocomposite matrix, with a fiber content of 60 wt%.
The matrix had 2 wt% bentonite clay nanoparticles. The silicate layers were believed to be dispersed on
the nanometer level. Helium permeability measurements show that the gas permeability was reduced by
70 percent, compared with that of the neat resin matrix composite, as shown in figure 12. Hydrogen
permeability results were not reported. The reduction in permeability is believed to be due to an
alignment of the silicate layers by the carbon fibers, thus lengthening the gas diffusion path. This
composite shows an increase in stiffness but no increase in flexural or interlaminar shear strength with
respect to the neat resin.
The materials that are suitable for this tank wall application include monolithic metals, continuous-
fiber-reinforced PMCs, and DRXs. These are the classes of materials that should be evaluated further
based on the performance indices discussed above. Mechanical properties, hydrogen permeation,
manufacturability, and cost are some of the other significant issues that should be considered for
determining the most optimum material system for tank wall construction. Table V briefly summarizes
the advantages and disadvantages of various options for tank wall materials.

NASA/TM—2006-214346 24
 TABLE V.—ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF VARIOUS
LIQUID HYDROGEN STORAGE TANK WALL MATERIALS
Discriminators
Metallic
Advantages Well established, currently in use
Relatively low cost, easy to fabricate
Insignificant permeation, alleviating need for permeation barrier
Disadvantages Higher mass
High thermal conductivity
Compositea
Advantages Low mass
High specific strength and stiffness
Tailorable properties
Disadvantages Higher cost
Prone to permeation by hydrogen
Prone to microcracking due to constituent CTE mismatch
Potential need for barrier or liner, resulting in component CTE mismatch issues
Fabrication, processing, and joining issues
Hybrid constructiona
Advantages Potential optimum design for lowest mass
Disadvantages Fabrication complexity
Higher cost
CTE mismatch issues
a
CTE is coefficient of thermal expansion.

4.2.2 Tank wall architecture.—Material selection for the tank wall is just one of the critical issues in
the design process. The tank wall geometry is another significant issue. Various tank wall geometries
have been utilized in the past. A brief description was provided in the Introduction of this report. Many of
the previous aerospace applications were for relatively short-term durations. As a result, single-wall
construction with stiffening ribs is common. Later, experimental projects utilized double-wall
construction, including composite sandwich structures, but with a gas purge as opposed to a vacuum
jacket.
Wall construction schemes will need a more indepth investigation to determine an optimum light-
weight design with the appropriate insulation method to meet the needs of an aircraft application.
Table VI briefly summarizes the advantages and disadvantages of various tank wall construction methods.
Bending stresses within a tank will arise from fuel slosh and loads induced at the supports, and the
shape of the tank will affect its ability to accommodate these stresses. Certain geometrical shapes, such as
a sphere, can minimize bending stresses within the wall of the tank. Thus, if the tank is to be made into a
cylindrical configuration or a more complex conformal geometry, then it may be beneficial necessary to
select a wall construction that can accommodate bending.
Two general categories for tank wall construction are single-wall and double-wall architecture.
Because of the need to maintain a low heat flux for an extended duration for this application, the
insulation system as discussed in the previous section most likely would consist of a high-vacuum-based
system, which would dictate the use of a double-wall tank construction.

NASA/TM—2006-214346 25
 TABLE VI.—ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF VARIOUS
LIQUID HYDROGEN STORAGE TANK WALL CONFIGURATIONS
Discriminators
Single wall
Advantages Simple construction
Low cost
Disadvantages Limited insulation schemes
Not optimum for low weight
Not practical for longer term application

Double wall
Advantages Optimum for low weight
Allows for more insulation schemes
Disadvantages Higher cost
Complex fabrication
Constant thickness
Advantages Low cost
Simple construction
Disadvantages Limited insulation schemes (SOFI), not optimum for long duration
Not optimum for low weight

Variable thickness
(stiffeners)
Advantages Lightweight
Tailorable properties
Can be optimized for a specific application
Disadvantages Fabrication
Higher cost
Limited insulation schemes (SOFI), not optimum for long duration
Structural core
(sandwich construction)
Advantages Low weight
Well suited for in-plane and bending loads
Better mechanical properties
Core may have insulating properties
Disadvantages Fabrication issues for large structures
Higher cost

Nonstructural core
Advantages Lightweight
Well suited for extremely low thermal
conductivity systems, including vacuum
Disadvantages Thicker walls, higher weight
Cost and complexity
Critically relies on maintaining high level of vacuum,
so loss of vacuum results in catastrophic failure

NASA/TM—2006-214346 26
 Single-wall constructions have the advantages of relatively simple construction and low cost.
However, they can only be used with a foam-based or similar insulation system and thus are not likely to
meet the low-heat-flux requirement for an aircraft application. A single-wall-foam system is quite suitable
for a relatively short-term application, such as the space shuttle ET.
Double-wall construction, in contrast, may consist of a sandwich-type construction with a load-
bearing core that supports various loads. In addition, the core material may exhibit insulating properties
that limits the heat flux into the tank. Alternatively, the double-wall construction may utilize two
structural walls with minimal physical contact with a high-vacuum-based insulation system.
4.2.3 Liner.—As mentioned above, a linerless tank (tank without the need for a liner) is preferred to
minimize cost, weight, and compatibility issues. By eliminating the liner, a major portion of the tank
mass, cost, and fabrication time can be saved. However, for advanced fiber-reinforced composites, even
the state-of-the-art resin systems may be too permeable to contain liquid and gaseous hydrogen when
subjected to high strains resulting from mechanical and thermal loads that are characteristic of efficient
tanks. In addition, the thermal cycling associated with repeated filling and draining may cause material
fatigue damage in the form of matrix microcracking, which may result in the leakage of hydrogen.
Composite materials, using continuous graphite fiber reinforcement and some sort of a polymeric
resin matrix, will allow for optimization of a composite layup for material stiffness and strength,
consequently leading to lower mass tank designs. Other composite materials that may meet the design
criteria include MMCs, which also include DRXs. The characteristics that make composite materials
attractive in tank applications are their tailorable stiffness and strength properties and a significant lower
density than metals.
The composite tank material is subjected predominantly to biaxial stresses, which may result in
transverse microcracking at levels of strain significantly below the strain to failure. In addition, all
polymeric resins are gas permeable to a certain degree. The addition of fibers can cause microcracking
due to the processing and the CTE mismatch of the two constituents. The obvious effect of these
microcracks is to provide a leakage path for the contained gas or liquid from the interior of the tank.
Therefore, it is necessary to prevent the gas from leaking through the tank walls. A further concern is to
prevent moisture from entering the microcracks produced on the exterior of the vessel. If freezing of the
moisture occurs, it can result in progressive damage to the composite laminate. A potential solution to
these problems is to apply appropriately compliant coatings on the interior and exterior surface of the tank
that are capable of isolating the microcracks.
Based on the X–33 tank experience (sec. 3.6), permeability issues may dictate the need for a thin foil-
like metallic liner if the tank wall construction itself is nonmetallic. Robinson et al. (2004) mentioned that
in a trade study conducted by Boeing, aluminum was considered the best performer as a liner material.
However, there is such a large CTE mismatch between the metallic liner and the composite tank material
that the two tend to separate when the cryogenic liquid is introduced. In addition, any liner material is
very difficult to implement and maintain. Other potential liner materials may include DRXs, which have
tailorable properties and may help reduce the CTE mismatch issues between the liner and the tank wall.
Various polymer and elastomer films have also been considered as a permeation barrier for gases
such as helium, hydrogen, and oxygen through composite laminates (Jones and Li, 2003). Among them,
ethylene vinyl alcohol and vinylidene chloride are superb barriers against the permeation of helium.
Fluoropolymers offer even higher resistance to permeation by helium. Among the elastomers, polysulfide,
polyeurathene, nitrile, and butile have very low permeability. These include both cured-in-place (formed
on the tool and cured with the composite) as well as sprayable materials that are secondarily applied to the
cured composite. Data on hydrogen permeation of these materials is very limited.

5.0 Fabrication and Other Issues

The linerless composite tank construction would be the ideal configuration, offering minimum weight
and cost. Composite materials offer the possibility of net shape manufacturing, which will lower the parts
count, and those parts will require a lot less machining than comparable metallic parts. Metallic parts

NASA/TM—2006-214346 27
require significant secondary processing such as heat treating, etching, chemical milling, anodizing, and
so forth, some of which must be done several times—all in addition to major structural forming and
joining that must be done. Any particular step is not necessarily expensive, but they add up to a costly
total. However, the ply layup of composites may be labor intensive if the fabrication is not fully
automated. Also, the joining of composites poses a significant challenge.
However, composite tanks present some issues that are unique to this type of construction. One of the
issues has to do with tooling and fabrication. Among them, a primary issue is to decide whether the tank
should be laidup and cured in two parts on conventional molds that are subsequently joined together. This
obviously has some risks associated with it in designing a composite tank with a joint. A joint introduces
the possibility of leaks. To fabricate a composite linerless tank in one piece, the reinforcing fibers must be
wound onto a mandrel that is either mechanically attached, water soluble, collapsible, or otherwise
removable. The applicability of each type of construction is dependent upon the size of the tank and the
opening. The presence of any film or coating for permeation resistance will also limit the type of mandrel
that is suitable. Other important considerations include the following:

(1) The required tank service temperature

(2) The thermal expansion mismatch between the tool and tank materials
(3) The thermal mass of the tool and the potential difficulty of curing process control
(4) The impact of tool’s enormous size on fabrication site
(5) Transportation, infrastructure, and logistics

Thermal expansion mismatches can be both beneficial and problematic. Aluminum tools on
composite parts are often used because the higher CTE of the aluminum will cause it to separate from the
part as both are cooled down after curing, resulting in a loose fit to make the removal of the tool easier.
However, low-expansion tools made of other materials are preferred for better dimensional control, better
part shape, and because of potential inconsistencies in the curing process. The large volume of the part
will make it extremely challenging to achieve a uniform heating rate in an autoclave and follow the
prescribed cure cycle. These issues are generally present in any situation but could be worse with metallic
tools and if a two-piece tank approach is taken, as there exists a potential for thermal mismatch for the
two pieces at the joint. In summary, the anticipated higher cost and the complexity in fabricating a large
tank and potential difficulty in sealing such a tool has to be traded against the weight, costs,
manufacturing difficulty, and the risks associated with designing a joint in the tank for the two-piece
fabrication approach.

6.0 Summary and Recommendation

NASA is investing in technology development efforts and alternate fuel foundation technologies that
will greatly reduce or even eliminate environmentally harmful emissions. Because of that, liquid
hydrogen (LH2) has emerged as a propellant to supply the fuel needs for future aircraft. Durable,
lightweight cryogenic propellant storage and feed systems are required to enable the development of
hydrogen-fueled aircraft. Systems should be able to maintain propellant storage volumes for significant
periods of time for ground layover and for the full duration of a flight.
Any reusable aerospace structure is very sensitive to weight. One of the important criteria in these
systems is the structural weight of the fuel tank as it constitutes a significant proportion of the total
aircraft weight. As a result, attention should be paid to individual aspects of tank system design including
material selection and architecture. This report provides an annotated review with an extensive literature
search of the current state of the art for the cryogenic tank materials, structural designs, and insulation
systems along with key challenges with the intent of helping guide the development of a lightweight
storage system for LH2.
An important design variable is the cryogenic insulation. The broad classes of insulation systems
comprise foams, including advanced cross-linked silica aerogels, and/or variable-density multilayer

NASA/TM—2006-214346 28
insulation (MLI). Mass density, thermal conductivity, thermal emissivity, thermal diffusivity, and CTE
are important parameters for an insulation system, and a thorough understanding of the composite
system’s behavior is desirable when designing a lightweight system. However, the ranking of these
parameters will be dictated by the specific application including flight duration, cost, and complexity. For
example, a long-flight-duration application would put the highest emphasis on the low heat transfer
including low thermal conduction and radiation heat transfer. Alternatively, a short-term application may
compromise the low heat transfer requirement in favor of the complexity and cost of the insulation
system. As noted in this report, the MLI systems, including variable-density MLI, with a vacuum jacket
have low density and allow for a minimal heat transfer, making them especially suitable for long-flight-
duration applications. New lightweight materials like advanced silica aerogels may provide viable
insulation systems for short-flight-duration applications. In addition, foams and aerogels could potentially
be used as supplemental insulation systems with MLI to alleviate catastrophic failure in the case of a loss
of vacuum in the MLI system.
Another important consideration within the overall tank design is the selection of the structural tank
wall material. As noted throughout this report, high specific strength, especially at cryogenic
temperatures, is the most important parameter for a structural tank wall material. Other important tank
wall material parameters are fracture toughness and stiffness. In addition, the tank wall material needs to
provide the required permeation resistance to liquid and gaseous hydrogen. Potential wall material
candidates that offer high specific strength are monolithic metals as well as polymer matrix composites
and discontinuously reinforced metal matrix composites. The use of composite materials for the tank
walls may offer weight advantage over conventional metallic designs. However, the primary impediment
to the use of composite materials seems to be the permeation resistance as illustrated by the X–33 tank
failure experience. Nanoclay-particulate-enhanced toughened epoxies using conventional continuous fiber
reinforcement may potentially provide the necessary permeation resistance to hydrogen. Linerless
construction is obviously desirable from weight considerations, but new materials and innovative designs
would have to be employed to achieve the permeation resistance to hydrogen. Another class of materials
is DRXs. These materials should also be further evaluated for tank wall construction as they offer the
permeation resistance and isotropic properties like those of the monolithic metals with potential tailorable
specific mechanical and thermal properties that are comparable to polymer matrix composites.
Potential structural configurations include single- and double-wall constructions including sandwich
construction. For an aircraft application, a double-wall construction with a vacuum-based insulation
system may turn out to be an optimum system as it minimizes total heat transfer into the tank. Tank wall
architecture may utilize ribbed walls, sandwich construction, and/or isogrid geometry. The current trends
in liner material development are also reviewed in the case that a liner is required to minimize or
eliminate loss of hydrogen fuel through permeation.

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Timmerman, John F., et al.: Matrix and Fiber Influences on the Cryogenic Microcracking of Carbon
Fiber/Epoxy Composites. Compos. Part A Appl. Sci. Manuf., vol. 33, no. 3, 2002, pp. 323–329.
Vance, R.W.: Design Guide: Introduction to Cryogenics. Mach. Des., 1964, pp. 170−192.

NASA/TM—2006-214346 31
 Appendix A
Acronyms

CFRP continuous-fiber-reinforced polymer

CTE coefficient of thermal expansion
DOD Department of Defense
DOE Department of Energy
DRA discontinuous reinforced aluminum
DRX discontinuous reinforced metals
ET external tank
GH2 gaseous hydrogen
LH2 liquid hydrogen
LO2 liquid oxygen
MLI multilayer insulation
MMC metal matrix composites
NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration
NASP National Aerospace Plane
NGLT Next Generation Launch Technology
PMC polymer matrix composites
SOFI spray-on-foam insulation
SRB solid rocket booster
UAV uninhabited or unmanned aerial vehicle
VD–MLI variable-density multilayer insulation

NASA/TM—2006-214346 33
 Appendix B
Additional References
B.1 General Overview of Cryogenic Fluids and Systems

Airbus Deutschland GmbH: Liquid Hydrogen Fuelled Aircraft―System Analysis. Final Technical
Report, Contract No. G4RD–CT–2000–00192, Project No. GRD1–1999–10014, 2003.
Boeing: High-Speed Civil Transport Study: Special Factors; Final Report. NASA CR−181881, 1990.
Boeing: High-Speed Civil Transport Study; Final Report. NASA CR−4233, 1989.
Borowski, Stanley K.; Dudzinski, Leonard A.; and McGuire, Melissa L.: Vehicle and Mission Design
Options for the Human Exploration of Mars/Phobos Using “Bimodal” NTR and LANTR Propulsion.
NASA/TM⎯1998-208834/REV1 (AIAA Paper 98−3883/REV1), 1998.
Borowski, Stanley K.; McGuire, Melissa L.; and Dudzinski, Leonard A.: Bimodal Nuclear Thermal
Rocket Propulsion Investigated for Power-Rich, Artificial-Gravity Human Exploration Missions to
Mars. NASA/TM⎯2005-213419, Research & Technology 2004, 2005, p. 12−13.
http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/RT/2004/PB/PBM-mcguire.html
Borowski, S.K., et al.: “Bimodal” Nuclear Thermal Rocket (BNTR) Propulsion for an Artificial Gravity
HOPE Mission to Callisto. AIP Conf. Proc., vol. 654, no. 1, pp. 829–836, 2003.
Bowcutt, Kevin G.: Hypersonic Technology Status and Development Roadmap. Presentation to AIAA
HyTASP Program Committee, Dec. 18, 2003.
Brewer, G.D., et al.: Study of Fuel Systems for LH2-Fueled Subsonic Transport Aircraft, Volume 2; Final
Report. NASA CR−145369−VOL−2, 1978.
Brown, Norman S.: Advanced Long Term Cryogenic Storage Systems. NASA Lewis Research Center
Microgravity Fluid Management Symposium, 1987, pp. 7–16.
Colozza, Anthony J.; and Kohout, Lisa: Hydrogen Storage for Aircraft Applications Overview; Final
Report. NASA/CR⎯2002-211867, 2002.
Culbertson, Andrew; and Bhat, Biliyar N.: The National Aerospace Initiative (NAI): Technologies for
Responsive Space Access. AIAA/ICAS International Air and Space Symposium and Exposition,
Dayton, OH, 2003.
Daggett, Dave: Commercial Airplanes⎯Hydrogen Fueled Airplanes. Presented to Hydrogen Production
and NW Transportation, Seattle, WA, 2003.
Davis, R.M.: External Tank Looks for a New Lease on Life. Aero. Amer., vol. 23, no. 5, 1985, pp. 64−65.
Faab, Reinhard: Cryoplane. Presented to Airbus Deutschland GmbH, Hamburg, Germany, 2001.
Freeman, D.C.; Talay, T.A.; and Austin, R.E.: Reusable Launch Vehicle Technology Program. Acta
Astronaut., vol. 41, no. 11, 1997, pp. 777–790.
Gehm, Ryan: Tech Focus: Composite Liquid Oxygen Tank Passes Test. Aero. Eng., 2004, pp. 28−29.
Glass, David E.: Airframe Technology Development for Next Generation Launch Vehicles.
IAC−04−V.5.09, 2004.
Glass, David E.; Merski, N. Ronald; and Glass, Christopher E.: Airframe Research and Technology for
Hypersonic Airbreathing Vehicles. NASA/TM⎯2002-211752, 2002.
Kovach, Michael P., et al.: Composite, Cryogenic, Conformal, Common Bulkhead, Aerogel-Insulated
Tank (CBAT) Materials and Processing Methodologies. Presented at the Aerospace Materials,
Processes and Environmental Techniques, Huntsville, AL, 2000.
McKinney, Brooks; and Neiwert, Tory: Northrop Grumman, NASA Complete Testing of Prototype
Composite Cryogenic Fuel Tank. Northrop Grumman News Release 0904–285, Sept. 7, 2004.
Miller, T.M.; and Cady, E.C.: A Lightweight Liquid Hydrogen Storage System for Electric Orbital
Transfer Vehicle Application. AIAA−1991–2348, 1991.
Mitlitsky, F.; Weisberg, A.H.; and Myers, B.: Vehicular Hydrogen Storage Using Lightweight Tanks
(Regenerative Fuel Cell Systems). UCRL−JC−134540, 1999.

NASA/TM—2006-214346 35
Mitlitsky, F.; Weisberg, A.H.; and Myers, B.: Vehicular Hydrogen Storage Using Lightweight Tanks.
Proceedings of the 2000 U.S. DOE Hydrogen Program Review. NREL/CP−570−28890
(UCRL−JC−141133), 2000.
Reynolds, T.W.: Aircraft-Fuel-Tank Design for Liquid Hydrogen. NACA RM–E55F22, 1955.
Hall, E.W.; and Silverstein, A.: Liquid Hydrogen as a Jet Fuel for High-Altitude Aircraft.
NACA−RM−E55C28a, 1955.
Thomas, George: Overview of Storage Development DOE Hydrogen Program. Presented at the U.S.
DOE Hydrogen Program 2000 Annual Review, San Ramon, CA, 2000.
Vance, R.W.: Design Guide: Introduction to Cryogenics. Mach. Des., 1964, pp. 170−192.

B.2 Materials in Relation to Cryogenic Systems

Anderson, D., et al.: Permeation of Gaseous Hydrogen Through Tank Walls at Extremely Low
Temperature. AIAA 98–3358, 1998.
Braun, G.F.; Tack, W.T.; and Scholz, E.F.: Advanced Cryogenic Tank Development Status.
AIAA−1993−2250, 1993.
Campbell, Sandi, et al.: Analysis of the Barrier Properties of Polyimide-Silicate Nanocomposites.
NASA/TM⎯2003-212221, 2003. http://gltrs.grc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/GLTRS/browse.pl?2003/TM-2003-
212221.html
Esgar, J.B.: Cryogenic Propellant Tank Structures. Prepared for ASME Aviation Division Annual
National Symposium, College Park, MD, 1962.
Gates, T.; Grenoble, R.; and Whitley, K.: Permeability and Life-Time Durability of Polymer Matrix
Composites for Cryogenic Fuel Tanks. AIAA−2004–1859, 2004.
Gates, Thomas S.; Odegard, Gregory M.; and Herring, Helen M.: Facesheet Delamination of Composite
Sandwich Materials at Cryogenic Temperatures; Final Report. JANNAF 39th Combustion Meeting,
Colorado Springs, CO, 2003.
Black, I.A., et al.: Thermal Insulation Systems, a Survey. NASA SP–5027, 1967.
Glass, David E.: Bonding and Sealing Evaluations for Cryogenic Tanks. NASA CR−201734, 1997.
Grimsley, Brian W., et al.: Hybrid Composites for LH2 Fuel Tank Structure. International SAMPE
Technical Conference, Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering, vol. 33,
2001, pp. 1224–1235.
Hald, H., et al.: Development of a CMC-Based TPS for Two Representative Specimens of Cryogenic
Tank RLVs. AIAA−1998−1609, 1998.
Hodge, A.J.: Evaluation of Microcracking in Two Carbon-Fiber/Epoxy-Matrix Composite Cryogenic
Tanks. NASA/TM⎯2001-211194, 2001.
Javitz, Alex E.: Cryogenics: Environment, Phenomena, Applications. Electro-Technology, 1961.
Jones, Brian H.; and Li, Min-Chung: Liner-Less Tanks for Space Application⎯Design and
Manufacturing Considerations. 5th Conference on Aerospace Materials, Processes, and Environmental
Technology, NASA/CP⎯2003-212931, 2003.
Leventis, N., et al.: Isocyanate Cross-Linked Silica: Structurally Strong Aerogels. Presented at the 225th
National American Chemical Society Meeting, New Orleans, LA, 2003.
Mallick, K., et al.: Thermo-Micromechanics of Microcracking in a Cryogenic Pressure Vessel.
AIAA−2003–1765, 2003.
Mallick, K., et al.: Ultralight Linerless Composite Tanks for In-Space Applications. AIAA−2004–5801,
2004.
Meador, Mary Ann B., et al.: Cross-Linking Amine-Modified Silica Aerogels With Epoxies:
Mechanically Strong Lightweight Porous Materials. Chem. Mater., vol. 17, no. 5, 2005, pp. 1085–1098.
Meyer, Lee; Pittman, Robert; and Wilson, Brian A.: Linerless Composite Cryogenic Technology.
AIAA−1999–4433, 1999.

NASA/TM—2006-214346 36
Mitlitsky, F.; Weisberg, A.H.; and Myers, B.: Vehicular Hydrogen Storage Using Lightweight Tanks
(Regenerative Fuel Cell Systems). UCRL−JC−134540, 1999.
Mitlitsky, F.; Weisberg, A.H.; and Myers, B.: Vehicular Hydrogen Storage Using Lightweight Tanks.
Proceedings of the 2000 U.S. DOE Hydrogen Program Review. NREL/CP−570−28890
(UCRL−JC−141133), 2000.
Moody, Neville R.; and Thompson, Anthony W.: Hydrogen Effects on Material Behavior. Proceedings of
the Fourth International Conference on the Effect of Hydrogen on the Behavior of Materials, TMS,
Warrendale, PA, 1990.
Parmenter, Kelly E.; and Milstein, Frederick: Mechanical Properties of Aerogels; Final Report. NASA
CR−200692, 1995.
Peckner, Donald; and Riley, Malcolm W.: The Role of Materials in Cryogenics. Mater. Des. Eng., vol.
54, no. 1, 1961, pp. 107−118.
Lagoudas, D., et al.: Numerical Modelling of Cryogen Leakage Through Composite Laminates.
AIAA−2004–1862, 2004.
Reed, R.P.; and Golda, M.: Cryogenic Properties of Unidirectional Composites. Cryog., vol. 34, no. 11,
1994, pp. 909−928.
Rettelbach, Th., et al.: Thermal Conductivity of Silica Aerogel Powders at Temperatures From 10 to
275 K. J. Non-Cryst. Solids, vol. 186, 1995, pp. 278−284.
Rivers, H. Kevin: Cyclic Cryogenic Thermal-Mechanical Testing of an X–33/RLV Liquid Oxygen Tank
Concept. NASA/TM⎯1999-209560, 1999.
Rivers, H. Kevin; Sikora, Joseph G.; and Sankaran, Sankara N.: Detection of Hydrogen Leakage in a
Composite Sandwich Structure at Cryogenic Temperature. J. Spacecr. Rockets, vol. 39, no. 3, 2002,
pp. 452−459.
Robinson, M.J.: Composite Cryogenic Propellant Tank Development. AIAA–1994–1375, 1994.
Robinson, M.; Eichinger, J.; and Johnson, S.: Hydrogen Permeability Requirements and Testing for
Reusable Launch Vehicle Tanks. AIAA–2002–1418, 2002.
Robinson, M., et al.: Trade Study Results for a Second-Generation Reusable Launch Vehicle Composite
Hydrogen Tank. AIAA−2004−1932, 2004.
Roy, S.; and Benjamin, M.: Modeling of Permeation and Damage in Graphite/Epoxy Laminates for
Cryogenic Fuel Storage. Comp. Sci. T., vol. 64, 2004, pp. 2051–2065.
Scheuerpflug, P.; Hauck, M.; and Fricke, J.: Thermal Properties of Silica Aerogels Between 1.4 and
330 K. J. Non-Cryst. Solids, vol. 145, nos. 1−3, 1992, pp. 196−201.
Smith, P.A.: Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics⎯Properties. Comprehensive Composite Materials,
Anthony Kelly, et al., eds., vol. 2, Elsevier, New York, NY, 2000, pp. 107−150.
Stokes, Eric H.: Hydrogen Permeability of a Polymer Based Composite Tank Material Under Tetra-Axial
Strain. 5th Conference on Aerospace Materials, Processes, and Environmental Technology,
NASA/CP⎯2003-212931, 2002.
Stokes, E.: Hydrogen Permeability of Polymer Based Composites Under Bi-Axial Strain and Cryogenic
Temperatures. AIAA−2004–1858, 2004.
Timmerman, John F.; Hayes, Brian S.; and Seferis, James C.: Nanoclay Reinforcement Effects on the
Cryogenic Microcracking of Carbon Fiber/Epoxy Composites. Comp. Sci. T., vol. 62, no. 9, 2002,
pp. 1249–1258.
Timmerman, John F.; Hayes, Brian S.; and Seferis, James C.: Cryogenic Microcracking of Carbon
Fiber/Epoxy Composites: Influences of Fiber-Matrix Adhesion. J. Compos. Mater., vol. 37, no. 21,
2003, pp. 1939–1950.
Timmerman, John F., et al.: Matrix and Fiber Influences on the Cryogenic Microcracking of Carbon
Fiber/Epoxy Composites. Compos. Part A Appl. Sci. Manuf., vol. 33, no. 3, 2002, pp. 323–329.

NASA/TM—2006-214346 37
Troeger, Lillianne P.; Domack, Marcia S.; and Wagner, John A.: Microstructural and Mechanical
Property Characterization of Shear Formed Aerospace Aluminum Alloys. NASA/TM⎯2000-210540,
2000.
Watson, J.F.; Christian, J.L.; and Hertz, J.: Cryogenics⎯Selection Data for Structural Materials. Electro-
Technology, 1961.
Whitley, Karen S.; and Gates, Thomas S.: Thermal/Mechanical Response of a Polymer Matrix Composite
at Cryogenic Temperatures. NASA/TM⎯2003-212171, 2003.
Wittman, David A.: Cryogenic Insulation and TPS System Demonstration for RLV Reusable Composite
Hydrogen Tank. AIAA−1996−1424, 1996.
Zeng, S.Q., et al.: Pore-Size Distribution and Apparent Gas Thermal-Conductivity of Silica Aerogel. J.
Heat Transfer Trans. ASME, vol. 116, no. 3, 1994, pp. 756–759.

B.3 Insulation Systems

Allen, M.S., et al.: Advances in Microsphere Insulation Systems. AIP Conf. Proc., vols. 49A and B 710,
2004, pp. 619−626.
Augustynowicz, S.D.; Fesmire, J.E.; and Wikstrom, J.P.: Cryogenic Insulation Systems. Presented at the
20th International Congress of Refrigeration, Sydney, Australia, 1999.
Blosser, M.L., et al.: Advanced Metallic Thermal Protection System Development. AIAA−2002–0504,
2002.
Brewer, G.D.; and Morris, R.E.: Minimum Energy, Liquid Hydrogen Supersonic Cruise Vehicle Study;
Final Report. NASA CR−137776, 1975.
Cunnington, George R.: Insulation Systems for Liquid Hydrogen Fueled Aircraft. J. Thermal Insulation,
vol. 4, 1980, pp. 61–79.
Cunnington, G.R.; Lee, S.C.; and White, S.M.: Radiation Heat Transfer in Fiber-Filled Silica Aerogel:
Comparison of Theory With Experiment. AIAA 1997−3884, 1997.
Cunnington, G.R.; and Tien, C.L.: Heat Transfer in Microsphere Insulation in the Presence of a Gas.
Thermal Conductivity 15, Vladimir V. Mirkovich, ed., Plenum Press, New York, NY, 1978, pp.
325−333.
Fesmire, J.E.; Augustynowicz, S.D.; and Rouanet, S.: Aerogel Beads as Cryogenic Thermal Insulation
System. AIP Conf. Proc., vol. 613, 2001.
Black, I.A., et al.: Thermal Insulation Systems, A Survey. NASA SP–5027, 1967.
Glaser, P.E.: What You Should Know About Cryogenic Insulations. Mach. Des., vol. 39, no. 19, 1967.
Hald, H., et al.: Development of a CMC-Based TPS for Two Representative Specimens of Cryogenic
Tank RLVs. AIAA−1998−1609, 1998.
Hastings, L.J.; Hedayat, A.; and Brown, T.M.: Analytical Modeling and Test Correlation of Variable
Density Multilayer Insulation for Cryogenic Storage. NASA/TM⎯2004-213175, 2004.
Lienhard, John H., IV; and Lienhard, John H., V: A Heat Transfer Textbook. Version 1.23, Phlogiston
Press, Lexington, MA, 2005.
Magna Steyr: Liquid Hydrogen Tank for BMW. http://www.magnasteyr.com/cps/rde/xchg/SID-
3F57F7E5-AC61D8D6/magna_steyr_internet/hs.xsl/263_1579.php Accessed Aug. 8, 2006.
Martin, J.J.; and Hastings, L.: Large-Scale Liquid Hydrogen Testing of Variable Density Multilayer
Insulation With a Foam Substrate. NASA/TM⎯2001-211089, 2001.
Parmenter, Kelly E.; and Milstein, Frederick: Mechanical Properties of Aerogels; Final Report. NASA
CR−200692, 1995.
Parmley, R.T.; and Cunnington, G.R.: Evacuated Load-Bearing High Performance Insulation Study; Final
Report. NASA CR−135342, 1977.
Parmley, R.T.; and Cunnington, G.R., Jr.: Demonstration of an Ultralightweight, Evacuated, Load-
Bearing, High-Performance Microsphere Insulation System. Thermophysics and Thermal Control,
Raymond Viskanta, ed., vol. 65, 1979, pp. 295–306.

NASA/TM—2006-214346 38
Plachta, David W.: Zero Boiloff Storage of Cryogenic Propellants Achieved at Lewis’ Supplemental
Multilayer Insulation Research Facility. NASA/TM⎯1999-208815, Research & Technology 1998,
1999, pp. 112−113. http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/RT1998/5000/5870plachta.html
Rettelbach, Th., et al.: Thermal Conductivity of Silica Aerogel Powders at Temperatures From 10 to
275 K. J. Non-Cryst. Solids, vol. 186, 1995, pp. 278−284.
Reynolds, T.W.: Aircraft-Fuel-Tank Design for Liquid Hydrogen. NACA RM–E55F22, 1955.
Rivers, H. Kevin: Cyclic Cryogenic Thermal-Mechanical Testing of an X–33/RLV Liquid Oxygen Tank
Concept. NASA/TM⎯1999-209560, 1999.
Robinson, M., et al.: Trade Study Results for a Second-Generation Reusable Launch Vehicle Composite
Hydrogen Tank. AIAA−2004−1932, 2004.
Scheuerpflug, P.; Hauck, M.; and Fricke, J.: Thermal Properties of Silica Aerogels Between 1.4 and
330 K. J. Non-Cryst. Solids, vol. 145, nos. 1−3, 1992, pp. 196−201.
Stochl, Robert J.; and Knoll, Richard H.: Thermal Performance of a Liquid Hydrogen Tank Multilayer
Insulation System at Warm Boundary Temperatures of 630, 530, and 152 °R. NASA TM−104476,
1991.
Wittman, David A.: Cryogenic Insulation and TPS System Demonstration for RLV Reusable Composite
Hydrogen Tank. AIAA−1996−1424, 1996.
Zeng, S.Q., et al.: Pore-Size Distribution and Apparent Gas Thermal-Conductivity of Silica Aerogel. J.
Heat Transfer Trans. ASME, vol. 116, no. 3, 1994, pp. 756–759.

B.4 Tank Structure

Abumeri, Galib H.; Kosareo, Daniel N.; and Roche, Joseph M.: Cryogenic Composite Tank Design for
Next Generation Launch Technology. AIAA 2004−3390, 2004.
Babai, Majid; Phillips, Steven; and Griffin, Brian: Manufacturing Process Simulation of Large-Scale
Cryotanks. 5th Conference on Aerospace Materials, Processes, and Environmental Technology,
NASA/CP⎯2003-212931, 2003.
Esgar, J.B.: Cryogenic Propellant Tank Structures. Prepared for ASME Aviation Division Annual
National Symposium, College Park, MD, 1962.
Gray, D.; and Moser, D.: Finite Element Analysis of a Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessel.
AIAA−2004–3506, 2004.
Grimsley, Brian W., et al.: Hybrid Composites for LH2 Fuel Tank Structure. International SAMPE
Technical Conference, Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering, vol. 33,
2001, pp. 1224–1235.
Hodge, A.J.: Evaluation of Microcracking in Two Carbon-Fiber/Epoxy-Matrix Composite Cryogenic
Tanks. NASA/TM⎯2001-211194, 2001.
Jones, Brian H.; and Li, Min-Chung: Liner-Less Tanks for Space Application⎯Design and
Manufacturing Considerations. 5th Conference on Aerospace Materials, Processes, and Environmental
Technology, NASA/CP⎯2003-212931, 2003.
Macconochie, Ian O.; Davis, Robert B.; and Freeman, William T., Jr.: Filament Wound Metal Lined
Propellant Tanks for Future Earth-to-Orbit Transports. NASA TM–100594, 1988.
Magna Steyr: Liquid Hydrogen Tank for BMW. http://www.magnasteyr.com/cps/rde/xchg/SID-
3F57F7E5-AC61D8D6/magna_steyr_internet/hs.xsl/263_1579.php Accessed Aug. 8, 2006.
Mallick, K., et al.: Ultralight Linerless Composite Tanks for In-Space Applications. AIAA−2004–5801,
2004.
Meyer, Lee; Pittman, Robert; and Wilson, Brian A.: Linerless Composite Cryogenic Technology.
AIAA−1999–4433, 1999.
Mitlitsky, F.; Weisberg, A.H.; and Myers, B.: Vehicular Hydrogen Storage Using Lightweight Tanks
(Regenerative Fuel Cell Systems). UCRL−JC−134540, 1999.

NASA/TM—2006-214346 39
Mitlitsky, F.; Weisberg, A.H.; and Myers, B.: Vehicular Hydrogen Storage Using Lightweight Tanks.
Proceedings of the 2000 U.S. DOE Hydrogen Program Review. NREL/CP−570−28890
(UCRL−JC−141133), 2000.
NASA Marshall Space Flight Center: Super Lightweight External Tank. NASA FS–2005–04–025−MSFC,
2005. http://www.nasa.gov/centers/marshall/news/background/facts/shuttle_external_tank.html
Accessed Aug. 15, 2006.
Niedermeyer, Melinda: X–33 LH2 Tank Failure Investigation Findings. Presented at the International
Conference on Composites Engineering, New Orleans, LA, 2003.
Noh, Jae, et al.: Numerical Modeling, Thermomechanical Testing, and NDE Procedures for Prediction of
Microcracking Induced Permeability of Cryogenic Composites. 5th Conference on Aerospace
Materials, Processes, and Environmental Technology, NASA/CP⎯2003-212931, 2003.
Reynolds, T.W.: Aircraft-Fuel-Tank Design for Liquid Hydrogen. NACA RM–E55F22, 1955.
Roberts, J.K., et al.: Composite, Cryogenic, Conformal, Common Bulkhead, Aerogel-Insulated Tank
(CBAT). Proceedings of the 4th Conference on Aerospace Materials, Processes, and Environmental
Technology, NASA/CP⎯2001-210427, 2001.
Robinson, M.J.: Composite Cryogenic Propellant Tank Development. AIAA–1994–1375, 1994.
Robinson, M.; Eichinger, J.; and Johnson, S.: Hydrogen Permeability Requirements and Testing for
Reusable Launch Vehicle Tanks. AIAA–2002–1418, 2002.
Robinson, M., et al.: Trade Study Results for a Second-Generation Reusable Launch Vehicle Composite
Hydrogen Tank. AIAA−2004−1932, 2004.
Smeltzer III, Stanley S.; Waters, W. Allen: Nonlinear Thermal Analyses of a Liquid Hydrogen Tank
Wall. JANNAF 39th Combustion Meeting, Colorado Springs, CO, 2003.
Walton, Greg: Just the Right Amount of Reinforcement. High Performance Composites, 1998.

B.5 Other Relevant Issues and Hardware Related to Cryogenic Systems

Acker, L.W.; Algranti, J.S.; and Fenn, D.B.: Flight Operation of a Pump-Fed Liquid-Hydrogen Fuel
System. NASA TM−X–252, 1960.
Jurns, John M.; Tomsik, Thomas M.; and Greene, William D.: Testing of Densified Liquid Hydrogen
Stratification in a Scale Model Propellant Tank. NASA/TM⎯2001-209391, 2001.
Letham, Daryl A.: Design Guide: High Vacuum Systems. Mach. Des., 1965, pp. 122−127.
Miller, T.M.; and Cady, E.C.: A Lightweight Liquid Hydrogen Storage System for Electric Orbital
Transfer Vehicle Application. AIAA−1991−2348, 1991.
Mitlitsky, F.; Weisberg, A.H.; and Myers, B.: Vehicular Hydrogen Storage Using Lightweight Tanks
(Regenerative Fuel Cell Systems). UCRL−JC−134540, 1999.
Mitlitsky, F.; Weisberg, A.H.; and Myers, B.: Vehicular Hydrogen Storage Using Lightweight Tanks.
Proceedings of the 2000 U.S. DOE Hydrogen Program Review. NREL/CP−570−28890
(UCRL−JC−141133), 2000.
Plachta, David W.: Zero Boiloff Storage of Cryogenic Propellants Achieved at Lewis’ Supplemental
Multilayer Insulation Research Facility. NASA/TM⎯1999-208815, Research & Technology 1998,
1999, pp. 112−113. http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/RT1998/5000/5870plachta.html
Rivers, Kevin H.; Sikora, Joseph G.; and Sankaran, Sankara N.: Detection of Micro-Leaks Through
Complex Geometries Under Mechanical Load and at Cryogenic Temperature. AIAA−2001−1218,
2001.
Rivers, H. Kevin; Sikora, Joseph G.; and Sankaran, Sankara N.: Detection of Hydrogen Leakage in a
Composite Sandwich Structure at Cryogenic Temperature. J. Spacecr. Rockets, vol. 39, no. 3, 2002,
pp. 452−459.
Ludtke, P.R.; and Robbins, R.F.: Review of Static Seals for Cryogenic Systems. J. Spacecr., vol. 1, no. 3,
1964, pp. 253−259.

NASA/TM—2006-214346 40
Scotti, Stephen J., et al.: METAShield: Hot Metallic Aeroshell Concept for RLV/SOV.
NASA/TM⎯2003-212425, 2003.
Wilkerson, C.: Acoustic Emission Monitoring of the DC–XA Composite Liquid Hydrogen Tank During
Structural Testing. NASA TM−108520, 1996.

NASA/TM—2006-214346 41
 Form Approved
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October 2006 Technical Memorandum
4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE 5. FUNDING NUMBERS
Review of Current State of the Art and Key Design Issues With Potential
Solutions for Liquid Hydrogen Cryogenic Storage Tank Structures for
Aircraft Applications
WBS 599489.02.07.03
6. AUTHOR(S)

Subodh K. Mital, John Z. Gyekenyesi, Steven M. Arnold, Roy M. Sullivan,

Jane M. Manderscheid, and Pappu L.N. Murthy
7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION
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National Aeronautics and Space Administration
John H. Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field E–15621
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AGENCY REPORT NUMBER
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Washington, DC 20546– 0001 NASA TM—2006-214346

11. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES

Subodh K. Mital, University of Toledo, 2801 W. Bancroft St., Toledo, Ohio 43606; John Z. Gyekenyesi, N&R
Engineering, 6659 Pearl Road, Suite 400, Cleveland, Ohio 44130; Steven M. Arnold, Roy M. Sullivan,
Jane M. Manderscheid, and Pappu L.N. Murthy, NASA Glenn Research Center. Responsible person, Subodh K. Mital,
organization code RXL, 216–433–3261.
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Unclassified - Unlimited
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This publication is available from the NASA Center for AeroSpace Information, 301–621–0390.
13. ABSTRACT (Maximum 200 words)
Due to its high specific energy content, liquid hydrogen (LH2) is emerging as an alternative fuel for future aircraft. As a result,
there is a need for hydrogen tank storage systems, for these aircraft applications, that are expected to provide sufficient capacity
for flight durations ranging from a few minutes to several days. It is understood that the development of a large, lightweight, re-
usable cryogenic liquid storage tank is crucial to meet the goals of and supply power to hydrogen-fueled aircraft, especially for
long flight durations. This report provides an annotated review (including the results of an extensive literature review) of the
current state of the art of cryogenic tank materials, structural designs, and insulation systems—along with the identification of key
challenges—with the intent of developing a lightweight and long-term storage system for LH2. The broad classes of insulation sys-
tems reviewed include foams (including advanced aerogels) and multilayer insulation (MLI) systems with vacuum. The MLI
systems show promise for long-term applications. Structural configurations evaluated include single- and double-wall construc-
tions, including sandwich construction. Potential wall material candidates are monolithic metals as well as polymer matrix com-
posites and discontinuously reinforced metal matrix composites. For short-duration flight applications, simple tank designs may
suffice. Alternatively, for longer duration flight applications, a double-wall construction with a vacuum-based insulation system
appears to be the most optimum design. The current trends in liner material development are reviewed in the case that a liner is
required to minimize or eliminate the loss of hydrogen fuel through permeation.
14. SUBJECT TERMS 15. NUMBER OF PAGES

Thermal insulation; Aerogels; Polymer matrix composites; Permeability; 46

16. PRICE CODE
Nanoclay composites
17. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION 18. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION 19. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION 20. LIMITATION OF ABSTRACT
OF REPORT OF THIS PAGE OF ABSTRACT
Unclassified Unclassified Unclassified
NSN 7540-01-280-5500 Standard Form 298 (Rev. 2-89)
Prescribed by ANSI Std. Z39-18
298-102