Dr. Muhammad Mustafizur Rahman, Associate Professor

Associate Professor

 

E-mail : rahman@eng.usf.edu

Website: http://www.eng.usf.edu/~rahman

 

Education

Ph.D    Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, 1988.

M.Sc    Mechanical Engineering, University of Manitoba, 1983.

B.Sc    Mechanical Engineering, Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology, 1980.

Research Interests

Modeling and simulation of thermal systems, Hydrogen liquefaction and storage, Aircraft and spacecraft thermal management, Heat transfer and air quality in buildings, Electronics packaging, Magnetic refrigeration, Jet and spray impingement cooling

Zero Boil-Off Cryogenic Storage of Hydrogen

 

Hydrogen has been identified to play a key role as an energy source in the future. It has the highest energy content per unit mass of any known fuel. When burned in an engine, hydrogen produces effectively zero emission; when powering a fuel cell, its only waste is water. However, significant technological challenges exist towards reducing its cost and storage volume and assuring its safety. Among the storage techniques being developed, cryogenic liquid storage of hydrogen is preferred because of relatively lower storage volume and the ease of regeneration of the fuel with variableTemperature distribution (K) in a tank cross-section demand. However, hydrogen losses due to boil-off because of the heat leak from the ambient into the storage tank is a concern. The Zero Boil-Off (ZBO) concept is employed for tackling the situation with a balanced heat removal and forced mixing. The study considered a cylindrical tank with elliptical top and bottom as shown in the figure. The tank wall is made of aluminum and a multi-layered blanket of cryogenic insulation (MLI) has been attached on the top of the aluminum. The tank is connected to a cryocooler via a heat pipe to dissipate the heat leak through the insulation and tank wall into the fluid within the tank. The condenser section of the heat pipe dissipates heat to the cryocooler while the evaporator section picks up heat from the fluid within the tank. The hot fluid is directed to the heat pipe using a fluid circulation system within the tank. This system consists of a pump, a spray head for discharge of fluid and a collector tube network feeding to the pump. Different heat pipe sizes, different locations of hot fluid collection and discharge, and different discharge velocities are being investigated.

 

Sponsor: NASA

Principal Investigator: Muhammad Rahman

Collaborators: N/A