Experimental investigation on no-vent fill process using tetrafluoromethane (CF4)

• Published in: Cryogenics (Guildford) Vol. 74; pp. 123 - 130
• Main Authors: Kim, Youngcheol, Lee, Cheonkyu, Park, Jiho, Seo, Mansu, Jeong, Sangkwon
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.03.2016
• Subjects: Acceptability; Cryogenic fluid transfer; Cryogenic propellants; Cryogenics; Instrumentation; Liquids; Methane; No-vent fill (NVF); Receivers; Tanks; Tetrafluoromethane; Cryogenic propellants; No-vent fill (NVF); Cryogenic fluid transfer
• ISSN: 0011-2275; 1879-2235
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cryogenics.2015.12.005

•The experimental apparatus has been fabricated to control the NVF parameters independently.•The effects of the NVF parameters have been investigated.•The non-dimensional map has been proposed to find an initial condition to achieve a desired filling volume.•The non-dimensional map has a good agreement with the experimental data. This paper investigates the transfer of liquid cryogens using a no-vent fill (NVF) process experimentally to identify the dominant NVF parameters. The experimental apparatus has been fabricated with extensive instrumentations to precisely study the effects of each NVF parameter. Liquid tetrafluoromethane (CF4) is selected as the working fluid due to its similar molecular structures and similar normal boiling point and triple point with liquid methane which has been considered as an attractive future cryogenic propellant. The experimental results show that the initial receiver tank wall temperature and the incoming liquid temperature are the primary factors that characterize the (non-equilibrium) thermodynamic state at the start of a NVF transfer. The supply pressure is also critical as it indicates the ability to condense vapor in the receiver tank. A non-dimensional map based on energy balance is proposed to find acceptable initial conditions of the filling volume at the desired final tank pressure. The non-dimensional map shows good agreement with the NVF data not only in this paper but also in the previous research.