A Review on Liquid Hydrogen Pool-Boiling Correlations

Abstract

Recent advances in additive manufacturing and origami fuel bladders challenge the applicability of liquid hydrogen pool boiling correlations developed for metallic substrates. Empirical liquid hydrogen boiling data are compared to correlations available from the literature that model the heat transfer through single phase convection, nucleate boiling, transition boiling, and film boiling. The boiling correlations display a wide range of accuracies for hydrogen and exhibit a discontinuous boiling profile. Many of these equations utilize numeric constants to account for parameters such as geometry or material properties that have not been validated for a wide range of applications. A sensitivity study is presented for each boiling regime’s widely accepted equation, and manipulating the material/fluid properties has a significant impact on calculating the boiling curve for hydrogen in different storage containers. From this review, we identify major areas for improvement of liquid hydrogen boiling correlations including developing an accurate representation of hydrogen’s quantum property nature and expanding applicability to novel materials.