A thermally activatable safety valve for a pressure vessel includes i) a pressure relief unit having a valve for pressure relief of the pressure vessel; ii) at least one release line which extends away from the pressure relief unit; and iii) at least one bursting device. The release line, the bursting device and the valve are fluidically connected and form a common fluid system. The valve is designed, for pressure relief, to pass from a first closed position into a second open position if the pressure in the fluid system is less than an actuating limit pressure. The bursting device is designed to bring about pressure relief in the fluid system if the pressure in the fluid system exceeds a release pressure.

The present disclosure generally relates to a venting system that includes a wall of a lid or a container. The lid or container defines a central longitudinal axis, and a line segment that is measured from the longitudinal axis to an outermost surface of the lid or container, and a pressure relief feature that is disposed along the lid or container. The pressure relief feature includes a thinned region of the lid or container that defines a minimum thickness that is less than 40% of a maximum thickness of the respective lid or container.

The invention relates to a tank for storing a cryogenic mixture of liquid and gas, comprising a first casing, a draw-off pipe for drawing off fluid, which has an upstream end connected to said first casing, a filling circuit comprising a first filling pipe with an upstream end to be connected to a fluid source and a downstream end connected to the lower portion of the first casing, said filling circuit comprising a second filling pipe connected to the fluid source and a downstream end connected to the upper portion of the first casing, wherein the upstream ends of said first and second filling pipes are designed to be connected to the same fluid source simultaneously, and a distribution valve assembly which is configured to allow distribution of the fluid in said filling pipes, wherein the tank comprises a sensor assembly which measures the pressure in the first casing, said distribution valve assembly being configured to automatically adjust the pressure in the first casing, during filling, to a predetermined pressure setpoint (Pc) by means of the automatic distribution of the flow rate of fluid from the source in the filling pipes, depending on the pressure setpoint (Pc) and the pressure measured by the sensor assembly.

The present disclosure generally relates to a venting system that includes a wall of a lid or a container, the lid or container defining a central longitudinal axis, and a line segment that is measured from the longitudinal axis to an outermost surface of the lid or container, and a pressure relief feature that is disposed along the lid or container. The pressure relief feature includes a thinned region of the lid or container that defines a minimum thickness that is less than 40% of a maximum thickness of the respective lid or container. The pressure relief feature extends at least 180 degrees about the longitudinal axis, and the pressure relief feature is located at a distance from the longitudinal axis of more than 80% of the line segment.

An integrated pressure regulator is provided with three stages configured to reduce an extreme tank pressure down to a typical working pressure. The regulator is configured to supply a steady working pressure until the tank pressure is reduced to little more than the working pressure itself. Stages of the pressure regulator are integrated into a body and arranged to minimize regulator mass and volume. A thermally-triggered pressure relief device may be included with a triggering time adapted to enhance the safety of smaller cylinders that may be used, e.g., in aerial applications.

A system and method of predicting impending failure of a pressure vessel include a pressure vessel, a fluid source, a line coupled to the pressure vessel and to the fluid source, an apparatus, a sensor and a controller. The apparatus includes a conduit and a containment structure. The containment structure includes a cavity separated from an interior of the conduit by a portion of a conduit wall of the conduit. The sensor is configured to determine a value of a physical property in the cavity. The controller is in signal communication with the sensor and configured to detect a change in the value. The method includes determining a first value of a physical property in the cavity, experiencing a failure of the conduit wall, determining a second value of the physical property in the cavity, and detecting a difference between the first and second values.

The invention relates to a pressure vessel comprising: a vessel body, wherein, at an upper end of the vessel body, an end section is integrally formed with the vessel body, which has an opening, and a valve arranged in the end section. At least two outflow openings are formed in the wall surrounding the opening of the end region below the opening, which are in particular arranged opposite one another. In an outflow position of the valve, the outflow openings are fluidically connected via the valve to a body interior of the vessel body and the opening of the end region is closed in a media-tight manner, and, in a filling position of the valve, the opening of the end region is fluidically connected to the body interior of the vessel body via the valve. Furthermore, the invention relates to a method for filling the pressure vessel.

A hydrogen storage tank for a hydrogen fueled aircraft. The tank has a wall made of layers of aerogel sections around a hard shell layer, sealed within a flexible outer layer, and having the air removed to form a vacuum. The periphery of each layer section abuts other sections of that layer, but only overlies the periphery of the sections of other layers at individual points. The wall is characterized by a thermal conductivity that is lower near its gravitational top than its gravitational bottom. The tank has two exit passageways, one being direct, and the other passing through a vapor shield that extends through the wall between two layers of aerogel. A control system controls the relative flow through the two passages to regulate the boil-off rate of the tank.

There is provided a release valve for releasing fluid from a source of compressed fluid for inflating an inflatable structure, comprising: a housing comprising an inlet for coupling to a source of compressed fluid, and an outlet; a flow chamber disposed within the housing and forming part of a flow path from the inlet to the outlet; a valve member configured to move to a release position to permit fluid to flow from the inlet to the flow chamber; and an actuator and a biasing device, wherein the actuator and the biasing device are disposed in the flow chamber, the actuator configured to move through the flow chamber from an unactuated position to an actuated position to move the valve member to the release position.

This invention relates to a safety valve for a pressurised gas cylinder, the valve comprising: (a) a housing comprising a proximal end and a distal end, the housing comprising a conduit which extends through the housing from an inlet at the proximal end to one or more outlets at the distal end, the inlet being connectable to a gas cylinder so that it is capable of providing fluid communication between the conduit and the gas cylinder; (b) a closure member within the conduit which is movable from a closed position in which it substantially seals the inlet to an open position which provides fluid communication through the conduit from the inlet to the one or more outlets at the distal end of the housing; and (c) a thermal release element within the conduit in the form of a fluid-filled glass bulb comprising a first end which abuts a stop on the housing and an opposing second end which abuts a distal side of the closure member in order to hold the closure member in the closed position.