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Masters Thesis Sophia Abi-Saad v9
Embargoed Access, Embargo ends: 04/06/2027
Thesis
DEVELOPMENT AND PERFORMANCE OF A TEST FACILITY FOR EVALUATING CONTINUOUS LIQUID LEVEL SENSORS FOR LIQUID HYDROGEN AVIATION APPLICATIONS
Master of Science (MS), Washington State University
2026
Abstract
As interest in liquid hydrogen as an aviation fuel continues to grow, the technologies required to develop reliable fuel quantity indication systems must advance accordingly. Liquid-level sensors are critical components of aircraft Fuel Quantity Indication (FQI) systems and essential for achieving aircraft certification. While numerous liquid-level sensing technologies have been investigated, there remains a lack of standardized test environments and reference measurement methods for evaluating sensor performance under representative liquid hydrogen conditions. This gap highlights the need for a unified benchmarking platform for liquid hydrogen applications.Increasing the technology readiness level (TRL) of liquid hydrogen aircraft requires rigorous testing and cross-comparison of liquid-level sensing technologies under identical operating conditions. To address this need, a 250 L liquid hydrogen dewar was retrofitted into a modular test facility capable of independently regulating liquid fill level, pressure, thermal gradients, and transient filling events, all while enabling simultaneous testing.
The validation of the test facility was performed through two liquid hydrogen test campaigns. The first test was focused on demonstrating in situ hydrogen liquefaction and validated the corrected weigh scale as a reliable reference measurement system. The second test established repeatable static fill conditions between 0% and 36% fill for proof-of-concept testing to benchmark a continuous magnesium diboride (MgB₂) level sensor against the independent reference system. Additionally, the facility demonstrated liquid-transfer capabilities of up to 220 g/s, enabling future evaluation of sensor response under dynamic tank-filling conditions.
The results and initial testing for this test facility concept demonstrate that the developed facility provides a consistent and repeatable platform for side-by-side and simultaneous evaluation of liquid hydrogen level sensing technologies under identical thermodynamic conditions.
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Details
- Title
- DEVELOPMENT AND PERFORMANCE OF A TEST FACILITY FOR EVALUATING CONTINUOUS LIQUID LEVEL SENSORS FOR LIQUID HYDROGEN AVIATION APPLICATIONS
- Creators
- Sophia Owens Abi-Saad
- Contributors
- Jacob Leachman (Advisor)Konstantin Matveev (Committee Member)Arda Gozen (Committee Member)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Science (MS), Washington State University
- Number of pages
- 126
- Identifiers
- 99901416206501842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Thesis