JP2862473B2 - Slash hydrogen fuel tank filling device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a slush hydrogen fuel tank filling apparatus which is used for filling slush hydrogen into a fuel tank of a rocket, a spacecraft or an aircraft.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At present, it has been considered to fly a space shuttle or an aircraft by using hydrogen used as fuel for a rocket engine.

[0003] In the case of liquid hydrogen currently used as a rocket engine fuel, the filling amount of the fuel tank mounted on the airframe can be determined by knowing the temperature, pressure, and filling volume (liquid level), but the density is high. However, there is a problem that the filling amount of the fuel tank having a limited filling volume cannot be increased. In order to increase the amount of hydrogen fuel mounted on the fuel tank, or to reduce the mounting volume for mounting a predetermined amount of hydrogen fuel, hydrogen is mixed with liquid hydrogen and solid hydrogen,
So-called slush hydrogen is used to increase the density and mount it. However, when filling the fuel tank with slush hydrogen, unlike liquid hydrogen, the solid content rate and the weight ratio of solid hydrogen present in liquid hydrogen are reduced by heat intrusion from the outside, and the density is reduced. In other words, there is a problem that it is not possible to fill the amount of hydrogen required for flight with the amount of slush hydrogen charged at the solid content.

That is, in the case of liquid hydrogen which does not contain solid hydrogen unlike slush hydrogen, even if the liquid hydrogen evaporates due to heat entering the fuel tank, if the liquid level is monitored, the liquid level can be reduced as the liquid level decreases. Further, by additionally filling, a target amount of liquid hydrogen can be charged.

However, in the case of slush hydrogen, even if the ratio of solid hydrogen in the liquid hydrogen decreases due to heat entering the fuel tank and the density of the slush hydrogen in the fuel tank decreases, the displacement of the liquid level is not so large. It does not occur, and therefore, for the same fuel tank volume, the fill weight will be reduced due to the reduced density.

Further, it is conceivable to fill slush hydrogen having a higher solid content than the target solid content in consideration of the solid hydrogen melting component due to heat intrusion at the time of filling. When used for launching in consideration of various conditions, from launch to completion of the engine due to weather conditions, such as weather conditions, variations in the operation of equipment, or the occurrence of troubles, etc. Time must be fluid, and it is difficult to maintain an appropriate solids content when starting the engine.

As described above, when slush hydrogen is used as propulsion fuel, it is conceivable that a shortage of charge may occur at the time of engine start, and as a result, there is a danger that a payload error of a rocket, a spacecraft, an aircraft, etc. is caused. There is.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a rocket or the like that uses hydrogen as a propellant, in which slush hydrogen is filled into a fuel tank as a propellant in order to increase the fuel loading capacity efficiency. It is an object of the present invention to provide a slush hydrogen fuel tank filling apparatus capable of setting the content of solid hydrogen to a target value so that the weight of the slush hydrogen to be charged into the fuel tank is equal to the target value.

[0009]

For this reason, the slush hydrogen fuel tank filling apparatus of the present invention has the following means. (1) A fuel tank for storing slush hydrogen supplied to the engine was provided. The fuel tank may be provided inside a flying rocket or the like, or may temporarily store slush hydrogen on the ground. (2) A solid-liquid separator for separating liquid hydrogen from slush hydrogen, which is installed in a fuel tank and in which solid hydrogen and liquid hydrogen are mixed, is provided. (3) A discharge device is provided for discharging liquid hydrogen separated from slush hydrogen by a solid-liquid separation device from a fuel tank to the outside. The discharging device may be a mechanically driven device such as a pump that sucks and discharges liquid hydrogen, or may be a device that pressurizes the inside of the fuel tank and discharges the liquid hydrogen from the fuel tank with the applied pressure. (4) A slush hydrogen production tank for producing slush hydrogen from liquid hydrogen discharged from the fuel tank was provided.
The slush hydrogen produced in the slush hydrogen production tank may not be entirely produced by the liquid hydrogen discharged from the fuel tank. (5) A feed device for supplying slush hydrogen produced in the slush hydrogen production tank to the fuel tank was provided. As with the discharge device, the feeding device may be supplied by mechanical driving or may be supplied by pressurizing force by pressurizing the inside of the tank. Also, what is supplied to the fuel tank may not be all slush hydrogen produced in the slush hydrogen production tank.

[0010]

The slush hydrogen fuel tank filling device according to the present invention separates liquid hydrogen and solid hydrogen in slush hydrogen in the fuel tank by the above-described means, drains only liquid hydrogen, and newly supplies slush hydrogen. Fill with hydrogen. By this circulation, solid hydrogen can be left in the fuel tank, and slush hydrogen having a target solid content can be filled, and a target filling amount can be obtained. Payload error due to insufficient fuel filling in the fuel tank can be obtained. Can be prevented.

Further, it is possible to immediately respond to a fluid, time-dependent change from the completion of charging to the start of the engine.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A slush hydrogen fuel tank filling apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an embodiment of a slush hydrogen fuel tank filling device according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a situation in which a parked aircraft is being filled with slush hydrogen.

As shown in these figures, in this embodiment,
A fuel tank 1 provided on a body 20 for filling with slush hydrogen, a slash hydrogen storage tank 2 installed near a parking area for storing slush hydrogen, and a slush hydrogen storage tank for injecting slush hydrogen into the fuel tank 1 Inject helium gas (GH _e ) into 2 and pressurize,
A GH _e pressurizing device 3 as a feeding device, a slush hydrogen injection line 4 for injecting slush hydrogen from a slash hydrogen storage tank 2 into a fuel tank 1, and a slush hydrogen and a solid hydrogen are installed in the fuel tank 1. A screen mesh 5 as a solid-liquid separation device that separates into liquid hydrogen, and GH _e is injected into the fuel tank to discharge the liquid hydrogen separated by the screen mesh 5 from the fuel tank 1,
GH _e pressurizing device 6 as a discharging device for pressurizing, drainage line 7 for discharging liquid hydrogen from fuel tank 1, and drainage line 7 connected to slush hydrogen injection line 4, and interposed circulation pump 8, The liquid hydrogen discharged from the fuel tank 1 is again supplied to the slush hydrogen injection line 4 with the bypass line 9 for mixing with the slush hydrogen supplied to the fuel tank 1 and the bypass line 9. Recovery line 10 for discharging the liquid hydrogen, a liquid hydrogen recovery tank 11 for recovering the liquid hydrogen discharged from the recovery line 10, a liquid hydrogen supply line 12 from the liquid hydrogen recovery tank 11
, And liquid hydrogen supplied from an external liquid hydrogen tank (not shown) via the supply line 13 is cooled,
It comprises a slush hydrogen production tank 14 for producing slush hydrogen, and a slush hydrogen supply line 15 for supplying slush hydrogen from the slush hydrogen production tank 14 to the slush hydrogen storage tank 2. Reference numeral 16 denotes a vent line provided in each of the slash hydrogen storage tank 2 and the fuel tank 1 and provided with an exhaust valve 19, reference numeral 17 denotes a flow regulating valve, and reference numeral 18 denotes a pressure regulating valve.

Since the present embodiment is configured as described above, first, filling of the fuel tank 1 with slush hydrogen from the slush hydrogen storage tank 2 through the slush hydrogen injection line 4 is started. When the inside of the fuel tank 1 is almost full of slush hydrogen, the slush hydrogen injection line 4, the drain line 7, the bypass line 9, and the recovery are performed according to the solid content and the amount of liquid in the fuel tank 1. Line 10
The opening degree control of the flow rate adjusting valve 17 provided in the apparatus is started.

At the time of the initial filling, the solid content in the fuel tank 1 is smaller than the solid content in the slush hydrogen storage tank 2 due to the heat capacity remaining in the fuel tank 1 and the slush hydrogen injection line 4. Is usually the case. Therefore, in order to improve the solid content in the fuel tank 1, only liquid hydrogen is discharged from the fuel tank 1 through the drain line 7. In the fuel tank 1, solid hydrogen is separated by the screen mesh 5 and is left selectively, so that the solid content increases. Further, since liquid hydrogen is discharged from the fuel tank 1, the amount of liquid in the fuel tank 1 is also reduced, so that slush hydrogen is further supplied from the slush hydrogen storage tank 2 to the fuel tank 1 via the slush hydrogen injection line 4. Fill. By repeating this, slush hydrogen is injected into the fuel tank 1 with a target solid content and a target filling amount.

When the solid content decreases over time after the target solid content is substantially obtained, the solid content can be maintained in the same manner. The liquid hydrogen discharged from the fuel tank 1 is supplied to the slush hydrogen injection line 4 via the bypass line 9 by the circulation pump 8 and used for adjusting the solid content of the slush hydrogen injected into the fuel tank 1. Is done. This allows fine adjustment of the target solids content.

Further, liquid hydrogen which is not supplied to the slush hydrogen injection line is recovered through a recovery line 10 into a liquid hydrogen recovery tank 11 and is again slushed in a slush hydrogen production tank 14 to be slushed again. Stored in.

As a result, all the liquid hydrogen discharged from the fuel tank 1 is recovered, which can lead to cost reduction.

In the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the fuel tank 1 is mounted on the body 20, but may be provided for temporarily storing the fuel tank on the ground. Further, the discharge device for discharging the liquid hydrogen from the fuel tank 1 and the feeding device for injecting the slush hydrogen from the slush hydrogen storage tank 2 into the fuel tank 1 are pressurized in the respective tanks, and the discharge or injection is performed by the applied pressure. Although the embodiment using the GH _e pressurizing device is described, these may be mechanically driven devices such as a pump.

The circulating pump in the above embodiment can be used not only for the above-described operation but also for preventing stratification of the stored liquid, which is a problem in storing the supercooled liquid. That is, even when it is not necessary to adjust the solid content, the liquid hydrogen in the fuel tank 1 is sucked, and a recirculating flow for returning to the fuel tank 1 is generated in the fuel tank 1. Layering caused by the density difference between the solid hydrogen and the liquid hydrogen can be prevented.

[0021]

As described above, according to the slush hydrogen fuel tank filling apparatus of the present invention, the slush hydrogen of the target solid content or the filling amount can be accurately fueled by the structure shown in the claims. It is possible to fill the tank, and the payload error can be minimized.

Fine adjustment can be made even for a minute decrease in the solid content over time.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing one embodiment of a slush hydrogen fuel tank filling device of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a situation in which a parked aircraft is being charged with slush hydrogen according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

Reference Signs List 1 fuel tank 2 slush hydrogen storage tank 3 GH _e pressurizing device as feeder 4 slush hydrogen injection line 5 screen mesh as solid-liquid separator 6 GH _e pressurizing device as discharger 7 drainage line 8 circulation Pump 9 Bypass line 10 Recovery line 11 Liquid hydrogen recovery tank 12 Liquid hydrogen supply 13 Replenishment line 14 Slush hydrogen production tank 15 Slash hydrogen supply line 16 Vent line 17 Flow control valve 18 Pressure regulator 19 Escape valve 20 Aircraft LH ₂ Liquid hydrogen SLH ₂ Slash hydrogen

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁶ , DB name) B64G 1 / 40,5 / 00 B64F 1/28 C01B 3/02

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A fuel tank for storing slush hydrogen, a solid-liquid separation device installed in the fuel tank for separating liquid hydrogen from slush hydrogen, and a discharge device for discharging the separated liquid hydrogen from the fuel tank A slush hydrogen production tank for producing slush hydrogen from the liquid hydrogen discharged from the fuel tank, and a feeding device for injecting the slush hydrogen produced in the slush hydrogen production tank into the fuel tank. A slush hydrogen fuel tank filling device, characterized in that: