Thermo-structural analysis of cryogenic fuel tank with varying common bulkhead configurations

The object of this paper is to investigate the role of shape and geometry and its corresponding effects on Heat distribution, Structural stability, and Buckling criterion by comparing different Common Bulkhead (CBH) geometries at different regions. In the past, much research has been carried out on different types of traditional pressure vessel heads, but a clear gap has been observed when it comes to the volume and quality of research done on different types of CBH. Three CBH configurations, Elliptical, Ellipsoidal, and Toro spherical have been modeled and using ANSYS software, thermal analysis, structural analysis and coupled analysis, i.e. Thermo-structural analysis is carried out. These analyses were also performed on the different components of the tank. From the analyses conducted, it is understood that it is very important to include thermal loads while dealing with pressure vessels, specifically CBH, because it has a clear impact on deformation, stresses induced, and on the Buckling Load factor. Using thermal analysis, the heat distribution of the CBH configurations along its curvature, especially in the knuckle region, is investigated to understand the effect of transition in shape on heat transfer. Also, by comparing the different regions of the CBH configurations, it was observed that, in the knuckle region, the outer and inner skin regions of the CBH share a relation with respect to the stresses induced. A thorough investigation on multiple CBH configurations at multiple regions has led to some interesting insights, which are explained in detail in this paper.