GTL’s Successful Validation of LH2 Composite Dewar-Tanks for Aviation Applications

Gloyer-Taylor Laboratories, Inc. (GTL), an aerospace engineering research and development company, showcased its industry leading hydrogen storage technology during Vertical Flight Society’s (VFS) 3rd Annual H2-Aero Symposium at SAE Aerotek in Charlotte, NC on March 13, 2024. GTL President Paul Gloyer shared in-depth results from the successful validation testing of its small subscale composite vacuum jacketed dewar-tank with liquid hydrogen (LH2). The GTL composite LH2 dewar-tank test results surpassed expectations. When fully isolated, GTL’s dewar-tank held hard vacuum at 2.8.e-6 torr for ~50 minutes with LH2, which was > 100x better than the requirement. This allowed the GTL dewar-tank to hold LH2 for over 21 hours, at -430 degrees Fahrenheit, while remaining leak tight with minimal hydrogen permeation. During this test, the subscale dewar-tank experienced only 2.8 watts of heat load. Based on this, GTL expects that the flight tanks will see only 1% LH2 boiloff per day. Results showed the composite dewar-tank’s ability for rapid chill-down, paving the way for aircraft to be refueled in minutes, versus waiting hours for a metal tank and transfer lines to cool. The inner composite tank went from ambient room temperature to 20K (degrees Kelvin) and holding liquid hydrogen in less than 20 seconds and the GTL composite tubes achieved full LH2 flow in less than 1 second. The tests also show that no-vent fills of the composite dewar-tanks are achievable, which greatly improves refueling safety. “With these successful validation tests, we have achieved a critical milestone in aircraft decarbonization. GTL is now proceeding with the fabrication of flight prototypes of the small composite LH2 dewar-tank,” said GTL President Paul Gloyer. To identify growth opportunities in Composite Cylinder Market: Trends, Opportunities and Competitive Analysis [2023-2028], please visit https://www.lucintel.com/growth-opportunities-in-the-global-composite-cylinder.aspx