Assessment of Cryogenic Material Properties of R-PUF Used in the CCS of an LNG Carrier

Abstract

Reinforced polyurethane foam (R-PUF), a material for liquefied natural gas cargo containment systems, is expected to have different mechanical properties depending on its stacking position of foaming as the glass fiber reinforcement of R-PUF sinks inside R-PUF under the influence of gravity. In addition, since R-PUF is not a homogeneous material, it is also expected that the coordinate direction within this material has a great correlation with the mechanical properties. So, this study was conducted to confirm this correlation with the one between the mechanical properties and the stacking position. In particular, in this study, R-PUF of 3 different densities (130, 170, and 210 kg/m3) was used, and tensile, compression, and shear tests of this material were performed under 5 temperatures. As a result of the tests, it was confirmed that the strength and modulus of elasticity of the material increased as the temperature decreased. Specifically, the strength and modulus of elasticity in the Z direction, which was the lamination direction, tended to be lower than those in the other directions. Finally, the strength and elastic modulus of different specimens of the material found at the bottom of their lamination compared to the specimens with these properties found at positions other than their lamination bottom were evaluated. Further analysis confirmed that as the temperature decreased, hardening of R-PUF occurred, indicating that the strength and modulus of elasticity increased. On the other hand, as the density of R-PUF increased, a sharp increase in strength and elastic modulus of R-PUF was observed.