Cryogenic fuel

Cryogenic fuels are fuels that require storage at extremely low temperatures in order to maintain them in a liquid state. These fuels are used in machinery that operates in space (e.g. rocket ships and satellites) because ordinary fuel cannot be used there, due to absence of an environment that supports combustion (on Earth, oxygen is abundant in the atmosphere, whereas in human-explorable space, oxygen is virtually non-existent) and space is a vacuum. Cryogenic fuels most often constitute liquefied gases such as liquid hydrogen. Cryogenic fuels are fuels that require storage at extremely low temperatures in order to maintain them in a liquid state. These fuels are used in machinery that operates in space (e.g. rocket ships and satellites) because ordinary fuel cannot be used there, due to absence of an environment that supports combustion (on Earth, oxygen is abundant in the atmosphere, whereas in human-explorable space, oxygen is virtually non-existent) and space is a vacuum. Cryogenic fuels most often constitute liquefied gases such as liquid hydrogen. Some rocket engines use regenerative cooling, the practice of circulating their cryogenic fuel around the nozzles before the fuel is pumped into the combustion chamber and ignited. This arrangement was first suggested by Eugen Sänger in the 1940s. The Saturn V rocket that sent the first manned missions to the Moon used this design element, which is still in use today. Quite often, liquid oxygen is mistakenly called cryogenic fuel, though it is actually an oxidizer and not a fuel. Russian aircraft manufacturer Tupolev developed a version of its popular Tu-154 design but with a cryogenic fuel system, designated the Tu-155. Using a fuel referred to as liquefied natural gas (LNG), its first flight was in 1989. Cryogenic fuels can be placed into two categories: inert and flammable or combustible. Both types exploit the large liquid to gas volume ratio that occurs when liquid transitions to gas phase. The feasibility of cryogenic fuels is associated with what is known as a high mass flow rate. With regulation, the high-density energy of cryogenic fuels is utilized to produce thrust in rockets and controllable consumption of fuel. The following sections provide further detail. These types of fuels typically use the regulation of gas production and flow to power pistons in an engine. The large increases in pressure are controlled and directed toward the engine's pistons. The pistons move due to the mechanical power transformed from the monitored production of gaseous fuel. A notable example can be seen in Peter Dearman's liquid air vehicle. Some common inert fuels include: These fuels utilize the beneficial liquid cryogenic properties along with the flammable nature of the substance as a source of power. These types of fuel are well known primarily for their use in rockets including the Intercontinental ballistic missile. Some common combustible fuels include: Combustible cryogenic fuels offer much more utility than most inert fuels can. Liquefied natural gas, as with any fuel, will only combust when properly mixed with right amounts of air. As for LNG, the bulk majority of efficiency depends on the methane number, which is the gas equivalent of the octane number. This is determined based on the methane content of the liquefied fuel and any other dissolved gas, and varies as a result of experimental efficiencies. Maximizing efficiency in combustion engines will be a result of determining the proper fuel to air ratio and utilizing the addition other hydrocarbons for added optimal combustion. Gas liquefying processes have been improving over the past decades with the advent of better machinery and control of system heat losses. Typical techniques take advantage of the temperature of the gas dramatically cooling as the controlled pressure of a gas is released. Enough pressurization and then subsequent depressurization can liquefy most gases, as exemplified by the Joule-Thomson effect.