Development of Methods for Temperature Calculation of LNG Carrier Hull

LNG carriers are vessels used to store and transport liquefied natural gas. LNG, in its liquid form has the temperature of minus 163 degrees Celsius. Therefore, the types of steel used to build the hull structure must withstand the impact of low temperatures. Cargo Containment System (CCS) is used to reduce the transfer of heat from the outside environment into the cargo tank and to keep the LNG in liquid state. Presently, the most popular types of CCS are designed by GTT (Gaztransport & Technigaz). However, Korean shipyards, KOGAS (Korea Gas Corporation) and many other companies around the world are developing their own CCS systems. The thermal analysis of LNG carrier hull is generally performed by the CCS developer and therefore, in order to assist the new CCS developers and LNG carrier designers, KR has developed a guideline for temperature calculation of Membrane type LNG carrier’s hull. This study is a part of the guidelines and focuses on numerical and analytical solution procedures for accurate hull temperature calculation. For verification and accuracy of these methods, temperature calculation of a Membrane type LNG carrier hull is carried out and the results are compared with each other. Both methods, thoroughly analyzed in this study, could be applied in the design of membrane type LNG carrier hulls.