The effects of infill on hydrogen tank temperature distribution during fast fill

• Published in: International journal of hydrogen energy Vol. 46; no. 17; pp. 10396 - 10410
• Main Authors: Li, Hangyue, Lyu, Zewei, Liu, Yaodong, Han, Minfang, Li, He
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 08.03.2021
• Subjects: Fast fill; Hydrogen storage safety; Infill; Numerical; Thermal simulation; Numerical; Fast fill; Infill; Hydrogen storage safety; Thermal simulation
• ISSN: 0360-3199; 1879-3487
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2020.12.133

The temperature rise of hydrogen tank during fast fill poses challenge on the safety of hydrogen-powered vehicles. Researchers have been continuously looking for methods to mitigate the challenge of overheating. In this paper, we proposed an innovative solution by introducing porous infill in gas tanks to slow down gas-to-wall heat transfer. The porosity of the infill is no less than 97% to maintain the volume capacity of gas tanks. To evaluate the impact of infill heat capacity, we modelled the filling process with a lumped-parameter model and obtained various time-independent temperature evolution curves. Then, we set up a 2D and a 3D finite volume model and investigated the spatial distribution of temperature rise. Four cases with different infill properties were simulated and compared. At the end of the fast fill, the infill resulted in lower tank wall temperature at the cost of higher gas temperature. The combined effect of internal gas temperature and gas-phase effective thermal conductivity largely determines the final temperature distribution. The presence of infill effectively slowed down convective heat transfer, yet overly resistive porous infill may overly slow down the gas flow and result in thermal stratification. Further studies on infill design can be done to seek more effective solutions. [Display omitted] •Proposed the innovative use of porous infill in gas tanks to control heat transfer.•Achieved significantly lower average tank wall temperature during fast fill.•Explained the roles of gas temperature and convective heat transfer.•Demonstrated the interaction among the infill, the gas flow and temperaturefield.•Obtained theoretical limits of using heat absorber in gas tanks.