Journal of Energetic Materials

The design of cryogenic propellant tanks that are used for storing liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen due to the low boiling temperature has many differences compared with the others.

In this paper, the most important insulated systems in cryogenic storage tanks, such as vacuum insulated, vacuum insulated with powder, vacuum insulated with radiation shields, multilayer super insulation and vacuum cooled shields are discussed. Researches have shown that due to the kind of application and capacity of the storage tanks, the kinds of appropriate insulations could be difference. The most appropriate type of insulated tanks that are used in small-scale units is vacuum cooled shield, and multilayer super insulation is used in cases that the weight of tanks has an important role. Also vacuum insulation is the most appropriate option for a high volume liquid oxygen storage tanks.