Heat Leakage Analysis of Main Structure of Large Full-Scale LNG Storage Tank

Temperature is an important parameter in the large full-scale construction and management of LNG storage tanks. To explore the temperature distribution and heat flux of the cold insulation layer at various parts of the tank, different calculation methods are used, considering three heat transfer modes of large full-scale LNG storage tank, namely, heat conduction, heat convection and heat radiation, are compared and analyzed by calculating the heat leakage of tank roof, tank wall and tank bottom under different external temperatures (273–333 K). At the same time, the finite element software ADINA is used to simulate the temperature field of its main structural parts to verify the effectiveness of the calculation method. It is found that the method of equivalent wall thickness can meet the requirement of accuracy of heat leakage calculation of storage tank, and the main heat leakage mode of storage tank in three parts can be simplified as heat conduction. The method of equivalent wall thickness heat conduction (EWTHC) is simple and efficient, which can provide reliable reference value for the optimal design of the cold insulation layer of the large full-scale LNG tank structure.