As one of the most promising renewable energy sources, hydrogen has the excellent environmental benefit of producing zero emissions. A key technical challenge in using hydrogen across sectors lies in its storage technology. The storage temperature of liquid hydrogen at atmospheric pressure is 20 K, or -253 ยฐC, close to absolute zero, so the storage materials and the insulation layers are subjected to extremely stringent requirements regarding the cryogenic behaviour of the medium. In this context, this research proposed designing a large liquid hydrogen type-C tank, determining the material and thickness of the primary and secondary shells, and using Vapor-Cooled Shield (VCS) and Rigid Polyurethane Foams (RPF) as the insulation layer. A parametric study on the design of the insulation layer was carried out by establishing a thermodynamic model. The effects of VCS location on heat ingress to the liquid hydrogen transport tank and insulation temperature distribution when the VCS heat exchanger tubes were fed with self-evaporating hydrogen gas, forced evaporating hydrogen gas and liquid hydrogen, respectively, were investigated. Finally, research outcomes suggested two optimal design schemes, respectively, for reducing the thickness of the insulation when the heat transfer rate was fixed and reducing the heat transfer rate when the thickness of the insulation was fixed.As one of the most promising renewable energy sources, hydrogen has the excellent environmental benefit of producing zero emissions. A key technical challenge in using hydrogen across sectors lies in its storage technology. The storage temperature of liquid hydrogen at atmospheric pressure is 20 K, or -253 ยฐC, close to absolute zero, so the storage materials and the insulation layers are subjected to extremely stringent requirements regarding the cryogenic behaviour of the medium. In this context, this research proposed designing a large liquid hydrogen type-C tank, determining the material and thickness of the primary and secondary shells, and using Vapor-Cooled Shield (VCS) and Rigid Polyurethane Foams (RPF) as the insulation layer. A parametric study on the design of the insulation layer was carried out by establishing a thermodynamic model. The effects of VCS location on heat ingress to the liquid hydrogen transport tank and insulation temperature distribution when the VCS heat exchanger tubes were fed with self-evaporating hydrogen gas, forced evaporating hydrogen gas and liquid hydrogen, respectively, were investigated. Finally, research outcomes suggested two optimal design schemes, respectively, for reducing the thickness of the insulation when the heat transfer rate was fixed and reducing the heat transfer rate when the thickness of the insulation was fixed
