Scale Effect Analysis of LNG Cargo Containment System Using a Thermal Resistance Network Model

In the present work, the scale effect on the Boil-Off Rate (BOR) was investigated based on an analytical method to systematically evaluate the thermal performance of a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Cargo Containment System (CCS). A two-dimensional thermal resistance network model was developed to accurately estimate the heat ingress into the CCS from the outside. The analysis was performed for the KC-1 LNG membrane tank under the IGC and USCG design conditions. The ballast compartment of both the LNG tank and cofferdam was divided into six sections and a thermal resistance network model was made for each section. To check the validity of the developed model, the analysis results were compared with those from existing literature. It was shown that the BOR values under the IGC and USCG design conditions were agreed well with previous numerical results with a maximum error of 1.03% and 0.60%, respectively. A SDR, the scale factor of the LNG CCS was introduced and the BOR, air temperature of the ballast compartment, and the surface temperature of the inner hull were obtained to examine the influence of the SDR on the thermal performance. Finally, a correlation for the BOR was proposed, which could be expressed as a simple formula inversely proportional to the SDR. The proposed correlation could be utilized for predicting the BOR of a full-scale LNG tank based on the BOR measurement data of lab-scale model tanks.