Cryogenic Storage & LNG Equipment worked example

Vaporizer Capacity at 99% expected vaporizer availability: a worked example

What does the result look like when expected vaporizer availability reaches 99%? The full calculation is worked below with real intermediate numbers. Use it when vaporizer capacity in cryogenic storage and lng equipment is being asked to take on more work and you need to know if there is room.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Rated gas output per vaporizer train: 4 SCFH / train (unchanged)
  • Available vaporizer trains or cycles: 480 trains (unchanged)
  • Expected vaporizer availability: 99 % (raised for this scenario; the documented default is 90)
  • Performance derate for conditions: 97 % (unchanged)

Working through the calculation

  • Applying the documented formula (Nameplate vaporizer capacity = rated gas output per train × available vaporizer trains) to the inputs above produces each figure below.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 1,844 SCFH for usable vaporizer capacity, the number this scenario is built around.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 1,920 SCFH for nameplate vaporizer capacity.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 19.2 SCFH for capacity lost to vaporizer unavailability.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 57.02 SCFH for capacity lost to performance derate.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where expected vaporizer availability sits at 90% and the headline result is 1,676 SCFH, this scenario comes in 10% above the baseline at 1,844 SCFH.
  • A figure at this level is achievable when expected vaporizer availability is genuinely sustained, not just peaked for a shift. A single fixed derate cannot capture the full ambient curve; an ambient air vaporizer's duty falls sharply at low temperature, high humidity, and with stacked-cycle frost buildup, so verify against the coldest-day rating.

Results at a glance

  • Usable vaporizer capacity: 1,844 SCFH (headline result)
  • Nameplate vaporizer capacity: 1,920 SCFH
  • Capacity lost to vaporizer unavailability: 19.2 SCFH
  • Capacity lost to performance derate: 57.02 SCFH

Run it with your numbers

  • Every input above is editable in the live Vaporizer Capacity calculator, which recalculates instantly and can be shared with the inputs intact.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.