Patent — available for licensing
3D-Printed Injector for Cryogenic Fluid Management
A NASA invention available to explore as a licensing opportunity.
About this technology
Overview
Innovators at the Marshall Space Flight Center have developed a system to minimize boil-off during cryogen transfer and storage using an additive manufactured injector with an augmented thermodynamic venting system (TVS). Cryogenic fluid transfer is important for both ground and space-based systems and typically requires venting of a receiver vessel during the chill and fill process to maintain a pressure favorable to fluid flow. NASA's TVS Augmented Injector offers an alternative system that gradually cools the inside of receiving tanks, improving cryogenic fluid transfer and storage efficiency and minimizing or eliminating the time the receiver tank vent needs to be open. The injector is a small piece of 3D-printed hardware that can be easily used with or integrated into tanks or filling equipment in any space or industrial application where a cryogenic fluid is being transferred. The injector may also be employed for long-term cryogenic fluid storage as a means of controlling tank pressure if integrated with a recirculation pump.