To develop basic technologies for the maritime transport of hydrogen energy, a liquid hydrogen experiment facility (LHEF) with system enabling observation under horizontal vibration has been designed and constructed. The LHEF consists of a liquid hydrogen (LH2) optical cryostat, a gas-handling system, vacuum pumps, and apparatus for generating horizontal vibrations. The results of performance tests show that the heat leak in the LH2 space is sufficiently small. Using the LHEF under horizontal vibration, the damped oscillation of the LH2 surface is successfully observed and analyzed on the basis of a simple model in comparison with other cryogens, e.g., liquid nitrogen, liquid helium, and superfluid helium. In addition, characteristics of magnesium diboride (MgB2) sensor for detecting level of LH2 are studied by means of the LHEF.
Minoru TAKEDA
Graduate School of Maritime Sciences, Kobe University, JAPAN
