Structural Considerations in the Design of a Liquid Hydrogen Tank for Hypersonic Vehicles

In order to utilize liquid hydrogen efficiently as a fuel for hypersonic cruise vehicles, it is necessary to design an optimum weight tank of high structural reliability. The structural design, analysis, and testing aspects of such a liquid hydrogen tank are discussed. The tank was required to occupy an elliptic space envelope and be allowed to buckle elastically under inertia loading and the effect of temperature gradients. The support system minimizes load deflection and thermal deformation interaction between tank and vehicle. The tank must meet burst pressures of 60 psi and yet be stable for certain loading conditions with negligible internal pressure.