Liquid hydrogen is a common liquid rocket fuel. Thus, the purging of liquid hydrogen will have the same cost, inherent safety, and conservation of energy benefits in commercial settings as in NASA applications. It will be applicable in the liquid hydrogen piping and storage facilities. There is a place for the technology in concept hydrogen vehicles and many research applications where the storage and flow of liquid hydrogen presents safety and costs issues. Additionally, other vehicle like the T212 and the T214 submarines use liquid hydrogen and may be able to use the technology.
The implementation of configurations that will reduce the purge time of liquid hydrogen will save value quantities of Helium. Accurately determining when the liquid hydrogen has been purged from the engine will save money while conserving the precious He resource. Additionally shorter H2 purge times will reduce operations time and increase safety. The installation option that avoids pumps, mechanical actuators, or the need to vent or pipe a sample will reduce the time and costs needed to approve the utilization of the new sensor. Complicated safety analyses will not be required due to the noninvasiveness of the new sensor.
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