Experimental study of cryogenic fluid flow through fibrous porous media

The flow and heat transfer behavior of cryogenic fluids in porous media has attracted considerable attention due to its critical role in cryogenic energy storage and transport. Even minor defects in thermal insulation systems can lead to severe consequences, highlighting the importance of accurately predicting the thermal and flow fields during fluid penetration to support the development of effective alarm strategies. This study experimentally investigated the flow behavior of cryogenic liquid nitrogen within a porous glass wool structure and the associated thermal field on a downstream hull plate. The experiments were conducted under varying inlet hole apertures, inlet pressures, and glass wool bulk densities. Detailed analyses were performed to examine the effects of these parameters on temperature and pressure distributions. Furthermore, the temperature distribution across the hull plate and the resulting brittle fracture areas (BFA) were measured. The results reveal that increasing the glass wool density from 32 kg/m³ to 80 kg/m³ extends the time required for the hull plate to cool to the ductile-to-brittle transition temperature by 73.3 %, demonstrating the significant influence of material density on the flow transport performance. The spreading speed of BFA under different inlet conditions was discussed. The results of this study will provide guidance for the design of cryogenic containment systems as well as strategies for the prediction of fluid leakage.