XFEM leak-tightness assessment of LNG concrete containment

Full-containment LNG tanks rely on an outer reinforced/prestressed concrete wall that must remain structurally sound and leak-tight under credible inner-containment breach scenarios.

In full-containment LNG tanks, a severe inner-containment breach can expose the inner face of the concrete outer containment to localized cryogenic cooling. Rapid temperature gradients and restraint-dominated tensile stresses may reactivate existing flaws and threaten leak-tightness.

A global-to-local Abaqus workflow maps transient heat-transfer results into mechanical analysis and then uses XFEM in a 30° sector submodel to simulate crack initiation and propagation from a pre-existing inner-surface crack.

The workflow uses a global transient heat-transfer analysis, maps the evolving temperature field into a mechanical analysis and then extracts a local sector/submodel for XFEM crack-growth assessment from a predefined flaw in the cooled region.

Temperature penetration, thermal stress, displacement response, crack depth evolution, crack opening displacement and PHILSM/XFEM crack indicators are evaluated.

Outputs can include temperature penetration, thermal stress pathways, crack initiation, crack depth evolution, crack opening displacement and local transition from surface cracking toward through-thickness fracture risk.

The case demonstrates how cryogenic release physics, thermal gradients, restraint and fracture simulation can be connected for leak-tightness-oriented performance assessment.

For owners and engineering teams, this case demonstrates a global-to-local route for asking whether localized cryogenic exposure can compromise containment performance. It also shows how mitigation options such as insulation, reinforcement detailing or exposure reduction can be framed for comparison.