Konstantin I. Matveev

Abstract: Liquid hydrogen is an attractive fuel for future green economy, as it does not result in harmful pollution and can be produced using renewable energy. However, liquid hydrogen requires very low cryogenic temperatures, and even small heat leaks can cause hydrogen to evaporate. When transferring liquid hydrogen, such boiling may lead to instabilities, including density wave oscillations, which make the transfer process unstable and can lead to the system damage. In this study, a one-dimensional model originating from basic fluid mechanics equations is developed and applied to predict the onset of density wave oscillations and their limit-cycle properties in a pipe flow setup. The time-domain evolution of oscillating flow properties and stability boundaries are calculated and presented for variable system parameters. The present findings can help engineers assess and mitigate this undesirable phenomenon in liquid hydrogen transfer devices.

Keywords: Cryogenic Systems, Liquid Hydrogen, Two-Phase Flow, Instabilities, Numerical Modeling.

Date Published: December 12, 2025
DOI: 10.11159/jffhmt.2025.043

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