On Some Thermodynamic Processes Possibly Involved in the Technological Flow of Liquefied Natural Gas

A global increase in the usage of LNG is expected in the subsequent years. More and more countries are starting to produce LNG, while others are starting to import it, using this energetic solution as a complementary source. The present paper consists of data and calculation relationships regarding certain thermodynamic properties of liquid methane. Also, it discusses a few case studies concerning some thermodynamic processes possibly involved in the technological flow of liquefied natural gas. A calculation model is provided regarding the thermal flow necessary for methane heating, vapourisation and overheating at an LNG unloading terminal. A calculation relationship is also provided for the evaluation of the specific latent heat of liquid methane vapourisation depending on temperature.

From adhesive to brittle delamination in visco-elastodynamics

In this paper, we analyze a system for brittle delamination between two visco-elastic bodies, also subject to inertia, which can be interpreted as a model for dynamic fracture. The rate-independent flow rule for the delamination parameter is coupled with the momentum balance for the displacement, including inertia. This model features a nonsmooth constraint ensuring the continuity of the displacements outside the crack set, which is marked by the support of the delamination parameter. A weak solvabi- lity concept, generalizing the notion of energetic solution for rate-independent systems to the present mixed rate-dependent/rate-independent frame, is proposed. Via refined variational convergence techniques, existence of solutions is proved by passing to the limit in approximating systems which regularize the nonsmooth constraint by conditions for adhesive contact. The presence of the inertial term requires the design of suitable recovery spaces small enough to provide compactness but large enough to recover the information on the crack set in the limit.