In tests of a portable tank specially designed and constructed under Air Force Contract AF 33(616)-2229, liquid fluorine was safely transported and stored. The investigation included 82 hours of transportation in a total storage time of 2570 hours

Ordin, Paul M

English

NASA Technical Reports Server

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~ RESEARCH MEMORAND1
TRANSPORTATION OF LIQUID
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By Paul M. Ordin
Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory
Cleveland, Ohio
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NATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE
FOR AERONAUTICS
WASHINGTON
November 8, 1955
.. —-
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https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19930088948 2020-06-17T08:55:00+00:00Z
=Cii LIBRARY K,AFB. NM “
NACA 13ME55123
NA!I’IONALADVISORY C!OMMITDE FCIR
.
RESm.RCH mcmmm
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!rRAm3P~m al?’HQMD FLU-
By Paul M. Ordin
Ilulnllullllllllllllll!lu
n144n5a
AERONAUTICS
<1
An investigationwas conducted to determine whether a liquid-
fluorine storage tank, designed and constructed under Air Force Contract ...
AF 33(616)-2229,would be satisfactory for the transportation of liquid
fluorine within the Lewis laboratory property. In these studies liquid
fluorine was safely transported and stored. The investigateion included
82 hours of transportation over both smooth and rough roadways in a
total storage time of 2570 hours. Recommendations for improving the
transportable tank are given.
tiquid
meeting the
lmTRoDucTI(jN
fluorine as a rocket oxidati has considerablepromise of
high performance reqxb?ements for long-range rocket missiles.
At the present time, fluorine is supplied as a gas in cylinders contain-
ing approxbnately 6 pounds each at a pressure of 400 pounds per square
inch gage. If, for example,.fluorine in these containers was used for
engines of 100,000-poundsthrust, abowt 33 cylinders would be .reqyired
for l-second operation. The shipping of sma31 qmntities of fluorine in
separate cylinders under extremely high pressures (thusthe handling of
large numbers of cylinders) ca31.sfor considerableeffort and results in
a high cost of operation. This method is inadequate to meet the demands
of medium- and lsrge-scale experimental studies.
To study alternate methods of supplying flunrine, the U. S. Air Force
contracted for a preliminary survey and design of a storage system for
liquid fluorine. The specifications callledfor a system to serve as
either a fixed or transpotiable tank of from 500- to 1000-pounds capacity. -*~
The completed portable storage tank (AirForce Contract AF 33(616)-2229)
waa used for a series of liquid-fluorine loading and storage tests at the
construction site. At the suggestion of Headquarters, Wright Air Devel:
opment Center and the I’WCA,the storage tank and equipment were loaned
to the NACA Lewis laboratory to investigate the use of the tank under
mobile conditions when loaded with liquid fluorine.
.,
.— - ——.——.. . ..-.. —. ... ——- —.—. —.——.. —— ——.. — ——.—— — —- ———..—.—.
. .— ————
2
A complete
reference 1 and
vessel consists
surrounded by a
RACA RME55123
APPARA!rm3AND PImEDmE
Description of A~sratus
descri~tion of the fluorine stcsrageunit is given in
a schematic diagram is presented in figure 1. The
of an inner tank for liquid fluorine (500-lb cayacity)
liquid-nitrogenbath. The liquid-nitrogen jacket can
.
hold w to 100 gallons. A vacumn jacket~ filled with granular powder
insulation,between the liquid-nitrogen container and outer jacket en-
sures a low liqdd-nitrogen loss rate. Two such containers with asso-
ciated vacuum pump, weighing system, and electrical accessories were
mounted on a flat four-wheel trailer.
The me~od of transferring both liquid nitrogen and liquid fluorine
from the tank is by gas pressure. I?orthe transfer of liquid nitrogen,
gaseous nitrogen ~res&re is built up over the liquid by vaporization.
The liquid fluorine may be transferred by building up the fluorine pres- -
sure by passing warm nitrogen gas through a warm-up coil located in the
liquid-fluorinetank.
The nitrogen tanks are protected by a safety relief valve and a
.,
buist diaphragm.. In addition, each fluorine tank is equipped with a
pressure switch set to operate a buzzer alarm. The nitrogen level is
monitored by a liquid-level gage, equi~ed with a switch that operates
the same buzzer alarm when the liqufd level falls below a set value.
The complete tank asseniblyis attached to a weighing system, which
consists of two strain-gage load celJs, cables, and indicating instru-
~nt. One side of the tank is supported by the two strain-gage load
cells and the other side by a channel attached to the trailer bed. The
charnel serves as a flexililesupport. -
Wading Fluorine in
The procedure followed in filling the tank with fluorine was to
manifold a nmiber of fluorine cylinders (400 lb/sq in. gage, 6 lb net
each) and empty these cylinders into the tank by opening one cylinder
at a time. The fluorineWeed rate to the tank was controlled by an air-
operated control valve. During the exploratory fceding of the first two
cylinders, each was opened to full 400 pounds per square inch on the
manifold with the control valve about one-eighth open. Ehibsequent
cy~nders were emptied individuallyby opening them to about 150 to 200
pounds per square inch manifold pressure and using the control valve
about one-fourth open for actual tbrottlhg. & the cylinder emptied,
the manifold pressure was kept in this range as long as possible; then
the cylinder valve was opened wide and the system allowed to discharge
to the tank to 10 pounds per sqpare inch gage.
NACA RM E55123 3
This procedure was used to feed 100 cylinders to the tank over a
3-day period. The actual weight of material transferred was calculated
as 586 pounds, because of the residual pressure of 10 ~ounds per square
inch gage remaining in the cylinder. The amount of liquid nitrogen used
to condense the initial 293 ~ounds of fluorine was 66 gallons or 1.51
pounds of nitrogen per pound of fluorine. The theoretical quantity of
liquid nitrogen reqyired to condense lpound of fluorine from 2980 K is
1.72 pOUUdS. This value is based on the heat of vaporization of nitro-
gen. H nitrogen gas (vaporizedby the condensation of fluorine) is
heatedto 298° Kby means of a heat exchanger, the theoretical amount of
liquid nitrogen reqy5red for the condensation of 1 pound of fluorine is
0.76 pound. The flow rate of fluorine into the tank during the loading
—
varied from W to 200 pounds per hour. Detailed
loading procedure is presented in the appendix.
data of the fluorine-
RESUUCS AIID DISCUSSION
Iiiquid-OxygenStorage
The storage tank was loadd with liquid oxygen at Baton Rouge,
Louisiana, and driven to the Lewis laboratory, Cleveland, Ohio. Measure-
ments of the liquid-nitrogen ievel, pressure in the product tsmk, and
vacuum in the tisulating ‘jacketwere taken durhg the trip and at the
Lewis laboratory. Data taken during the trip =e prese@ed in table I.
The total time of the trip was about 100 hours with 38 hours of actual
driving time. No nitrogen was added during the trip. The nitrogen
loss in percentage per day and the heat loss in Btu per hour during the
trip me shown by figure 2(9). The loss rate of nitrogen per day based
on a full nitrogen jacket varied from an initial rate of about 5.5 per-
cent at the beginning to 4.25 percent sfter 80 hours. The’nitrogen
loss rates correspond to a heat leak of from about 1.31to 103 Btuper
hour.
Measwements to determipe the liquid-nitrogen loss rate with liquid
o~gen in the product tank were continued at the Iewis laboratory. The
tank was kept stationary without the addition of further liquid nitrogen
to the jacket. Figure 2(b) indicates values of about 3.6 percent nitro-
gen loss (heat leak of about 85 Blm@r) after 250 hours of stationary
tests.
The heat leak during transit with liquid ox@en in the tank was
approximately 17 percent greater than under stationary conditions. This
increase was probably due to greater heat rejection, caused by the
sloshing of the liquid during transit and the weather conditions. Tem-
perature during the trip varied from 39° to 62° F. The total time of
liquid-oxygen storage, including the triT, was 434 hours (18 days), at
which time, the liquid-nitrogen level gage indicated 35 gallons and a
.
$Ji~-.,,,--------.71’,p\
_ ___ —__
—— —.-—_ ——
.—— —
4 N4CA RM E55123
yroduct pressure of -20 inches of mercury. The tests with liquid oxygen
were considered satisfactory, and the liquid o-en was transferred.
Oqgen pressure for transfer was built up by passing warm nitrogen gas ‘
through the W13rm-upcoil. The time required to build up sufficient
pressure was extremely long.
I@uid-1’luorine Storage
After the tank was loaded with liquid fluorine, the entire unit was
a
a
inspected and found to be unaffected by the fluorine. For the mobile %’
tests the trailer upon which the storage tank was supported was attached
to laboratory trucks. The ‘drivingwas done in two laborato~ areas, the
main area, which permitted relatively smooth driving up to speeds of 30
miles per hour, and an adjoining area with extremely rough terrain,
which allowed maximum speeds of 10 miles per hour. The data taken dur-
ing the mobile test with liquid fluorine in the tank are presented in
table II.
.
The total the of storage as of August 17, 1955, was about 2570
hours (107 days) with 82 hours under transit conditions. No clifficulty
was encountered during the entire program, indicating that the storage .
tank is satisfactory for the transportation of liquid fluorine. The
pressure in the fluorlne tank varied from only -17 to -19 inches of
mercury during the entire program. The loss rate of the liquid nitrogen
and the heat leak during this test are given by figure 2(c). The ‘values
varied from an initial value of about 4.5 to 3.75 percent per day after
150 hours, corresponding to a heat leak of from 109 to 90 Btu per hour.
The heat leak during t“hestationary storage of liquid fluorine obtained
from reference 1 indicates values of about 109 Btu per hour.
Recommendations for”Improvements
The folJowing items would be considered for the improvement of the
liquid-fluorineportable ve’ssel:-
(1) I?ressuregages designed to withstand the vibrations encountered
during transit should be ~used on the fluorine system. In addition, it
might be advantageous to separate the gage from the product tank by “
means of a packless valve. The pressure gages and related equipment
should be introduced to the vapor side of the product tank rather than
the liquid side.
(2) A more suitable load-cell weighing system should be designed
for the tank. It would be highly desti”ableto be able to check the loss “
of liquid nitrogen and to be able to transfer the reqyired amounts of
liquid fluorine when necesssry. The frame of the present design was
.
“.
NACA RME55123 u~ 5
apparently twisted during transit; furthermore, the design is not easily
adaptable to the leveling necessary for reading the load cell. A Com-
parison of the liquid-nitrogen loss obtained from
and from the load cell is shown by figure 3.
(3) The storage tank should be mounted on an
trailer and shouldbe positioned to permit access
ment.
(4) The warning system should be modified to
the level indicator
approved highway
to the related equip-
permit a separate warn-
ing for-each storage tank, and some means should~~ incorpora~ed to dis-
tinguish between warnings in the liquid-fluorinetank and in the liquid-
nitrogen cooling system.
(5) The method presently used to pressurize the liqtid-fluorine tank
reqyires the removal of most of the liquid nitrogen and, at best, takes
several hours. To permit the loading of rocket propellant tanks with
liqyid fluorine in a short time, a more efficient heat-exchange system
should be included on the
Liqyid fluorine, was
oratory in a storage tank
nitrogen cycle.
SUMMARY OF RESULTS
safely-transportedand stored at the Lewis lsb-
designed and constructed under Air Force Con-
tract N 33(616)-2229. Tests included 82 hours of transportation in a
total.2570 hours of storage.
Iewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory
National Advisory Committee for
Cleveland, Ohio, Septetier
Aeronautics
22, 1955
REFERENCE
1, Siegmund, J. M.: Research on the Production and Handling of Fluorine.
Frog. Rep. No. 7, General Chem. Div., Allied Chem. & Dye Corp.,
Feb. 1, 1955. (ContractAF 33(616)-2229.)
~y&2v@wqqzE
— ..— —-– -.———
— —.
.
6 lXACARM E55123
.
APPEt?DIX-FLUCECD11311EEDTO STURAGE TANK
The following data describe the transfer of gaseous fluorine to the ‘
yortable storage tank. This history covers the fi13.ingof tank nuqber 1
with liquid fluorine at the Lewis laboratory:
April 26, 19!55a
Time
Initia
1435
1440
1443-4:
1445
1457
1502
1510
1511b
1600
Mg@d-f lumine
tank pressure,
in. Hg
-28.5
%srted fluorine
feed
-17.5
-17
-15
-13
-Xl
-lo
-18
Kitroge~
level,
82
--
--
--
--
--
--
--
70
Fluorine
condenf3ed,
Ill
Cylinders
--
--
1
2
4
5
7
10
10
K
--
--
6
12
24
30
42
60
60
Remarks
Equilibrium
conditions”
aDaily feed, 60 (405/415)= 59 lb gaseous fluorine; flow rate
for cyfiders ““3to 10, Ml lb/hr; nitrogen cons&ption, 12
gal or approximately 1.4 lb nitrogen per lh gaseous fluo-
rine.
bStopped feeding and liquid fluorine tank pressure dropped to
-16 in. Hg.
—NACA RM E55123
.
Time
1000
1045
1050
1~$
IL05
1127
13.35
1143
1303
1320
1328
1330
1333
1338
1345
1500
Bi!!* -T -. ,’
Ayril 27, 1955a
Liquid-fluorine
tank pressure,
in. Hg
-18
Started feeds
-E
-13
-12.5
-lo
-13
-11.5
-u
-18
-6
-3.5
-2
-4
0
0
-17.5
Nitrogen
level,
gal
87
--
--
--
.-
--
--
--
57
57
--
--
--
--
--
--
33
~
condensed,
lb
lylinders
.-
.-
3
5
9
12
17
19
23
23
31
34
35
36
38
40
40
lb
--
--
18
30
54
72
102
1.14
138
138
186
204
210
216
228
240
240
Remarks
Initial
Stopped feeds
Resumed feeds
Slowed aO~
feeds; low
N2 level
Stopped
Static equi-
librium with
only 33 gal
N2
aDaily feed, 240 (405/415)= 234 lb gaseous fluorine; flow
rate for cylinders 1 to 34,-144 lb/hr; flow rate for
cylinders 35 to 40, 127 lb/hr; ni%ogen consumption, 54
gal or approximately 1.56 lb nitrogen per lb gaseous
fluorine.
.
.
7
—8
Time
1415
1425
1435
1443
1452
1501
151.2
1519
1525
1531
1!544
1552
1602
i640
+,~ NACA RME55123
-..
April 28, 19558
I@uid-fluorine
tank ~ressure,
in. Hg
-18.5 -
-15
-13.5
-33
-13
-13
-12.5
-12
-12
-Ill
-9
-7
Za
-16
Nitrogel
level,
98
--
-k
—
--
--
--
.-
--
--
--
--
47
Fluorine
condensed,
*
-- --
4 “24
9 54
13 78
17 102
21 126
26 156
30 18C
34 204
37 222
43 258
47 282
50 300
50 300
Remarks
Stsxt
Increase feed
(b)(c)
Stopped
Not yet at
equilibrium
allailyfeed, 300 (405/415]= 293 lb gaseous fluorine; flow rate
for cylinders 1 to-21 164 lb/br; flow rate for cylinders 22
to 34, 200 lh/hr; nitrogen consumption indeterminatebecause
of concurrent liquid nitrogen addition. Total gaseous
fluorine fed to tank ntier 1, 586 lb.
bAdded more nitrogen; level too low for good transfer.
cAfter 1525 ttie, some interruptions in feed were caused by
truck trsXfic through sxea.
‘lb/sq in. gage
.
u)
m
(m
m
—.—-
u!
0)
u)
o-l
.
.
NhCA RM E55123
-—. -
TABLE I. -DATA UJ3TA12tE0DURING TKIF FROM -
WON ROUGE, LOUISIANA, TO CIEWIAND,
OHIO, WITH LIQUID OXYGEN IN TANK
Data Time
0830
1830
1230
1900
0530
1600
Liquid- Iiiquid-
nitrogen oxygen
level, tank
gal pressure
in. Hg
94 -23
93 -23
a-=
89 -23
~ 86 -23
Vmuunl
in
jacket,
micron
36
--
36
--
36
--
3/20/55 1700 81 “ -23 I 31
3/21/55 0700 80 I -22 --
3/21/55 1000 Arrived at Lewis labora-
tory
9
i?+-:
.— .——.— .—— —
——— .-— —-. —- -– .—— —
10
TABLE Il. -
Date
5[2/55
5[3/55
5[4/55
5/5/55
MACA RM E55123
flOBIIXTESTS WITE LIQUID FLUORINE
start
of
run,
time
lm3
1245
1335
1415
1450
1800
1905
1040
1.120
Moo
1335
1415
1515
1610
1915
2045
0905
0945
1230
1330
1430
1525
2040
0035
0900
0955
ILOO
1230
1335
1415
1505
i615
1655
1810
End Iiiqu.id-
Of nitroge~
run, level,
time
1143 ’85
1325 83.5
1400 --
1430 --
1520 83
190b 84
2005 84
Wo .81
1140 81
1330 81
1400 81
1445 80
1600 79
1640 79
2o15 80
2105 80
0935 78
1025 78
1130 78
1320 78
1420 78
1515 78
1635 78
2125 75
0645 75
0945 73
1050 72
1145 72
1330 72
1410 72
1500 72
1610 72
1645 72
1810 72
2350 72
hmnilative
hiving
Xhlle
kc
2
3
4
5
5
5
6
6
7
8
9
9
9
lC
lC
U
12
13
14
15
21
22
22
23
24
25
26
27
27
2E
34
min
40
30
30
50
0
20
50
15
45
30
0
0
20
50
30
45
35
25
10
20
0
15
0
55
40
40
15
0
0
35
50
30
w
Cn
CD
to
WA RME55123 l-l
0!
03
co
al
TABLE II. - Concluded. MQBIIE
TESTS WITH LCWID FlxJaRrNE
Date
5[6/55
5/9/55
start End
of of
Mm, run,
time time
0900 0935
1030 lxlo
I-245 1630
1735 2335
1005 1045
1050 1.155
IZ30 163C
1815 234C
0045 0345
041.5 073C
0830 0915
0920 104C
1045 U-45
1230 191X
0845 163C
Liquid-
nitrogen
level,
gal
71
69
68
66
59
59
57
55
55
53
54
54
54
53
50
42
38
31
!umuktive
kiting
;ime
~
35
36
40
46
47
48
52
57
60
63
64
65
66
73
tin
(P
35
20
20
Ob
5
5
30
30
45
30
50
50
35
15
acheck weight on load cell, 319 lb; vacuum
in ~acket, 50 micron.
bC_heckwei@t on load cell, 263”Ib; vacuum
in jacket, 50 micron.
CNO transportation
‘%heck weight on load cell, 170 D; vacuum
in jacket, 50 micron.
.
g~p<fg?i
b.
- .. ._ — ..—.— —. _ ___
—.._.._. _ _
—. .. .
P
N
, .
ml. - rLqui&mOrlm StOi-egsTeasel.
96S
3696
(a) Tmnqmrt.mticm fmm Baton ROUW, Iminlma, to Iawi6 laboratory) omen in tank.
Fi@m 2. - Liquid-nitrqen low rata based on full Jackat under various cotiitims.
(b) 8tatkmmy at hwiE laborat.m-y; oxygen in tank.
Figure 2. - Continued. Liquid-nit- loss based on W jacket umlar various conditions.
9682
3896
i
I
I
5.0
0
4.5
\
x
00
~ .
— . .
0 0 0
b
.720
llo
3,0 F-H
2.5
90
80
2s W3 75 103 125 150 175 200 225
70
Time, hr
(c) Tremportation at Lawi,9 I-aboratmry) fluorine in trek.
Figl.me 2. - Conoluded. Liquid-nitrogen loaa rate baaed on full jacket urrclerw.rious conditiom.
16 wi&m=mIw= NAi.A RM E55123
240
200
!?’
w
180
160
120
80
40
0
.
/ ‘
Reference line; equal
loss measurement
/
/
J
0
d“
40 80 120 160 200 240 280
Value from Ilquid-nitiogen-l.oss ‘load cell, lb
Figura 3. - Ccmpariaonof liquid nitrogen loss detemlned by level indicator and
load cell.


Transportation of liquid fluorine

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