Dynamic study of a new design of a tanks based on metallic hydrides

Abstract

It is known that the hydrogen has a very high mass energy density, in fact, that it is a lightest gas; therefore, its storage is a great problem. The aim of the hydrogen storage technologies is thus to reduce the volume that hydrogen occupies in its thermodynamically stable state under conditions close to ambient salt. Recent work on hydrogen storage is mainly based on the use of metal hydrides. These metal hydrides have a high capacity for the hydrogen storage in the operating conditions. The effecting parameters on the performance of such a metal-hydrogen reactor are its design and configuration. In this case, there are a number of problems that need to be considered in designing a reactor. Among these parameters are the reactor configuration, the thermal and the mechanical strength, the kinetics of hydrogen storage and the security. Our study is concentrated on the problem of the thermal and the mechanical strength while focusing on the nature of the metal makes the reactor. In this work, the experimental studies of the hydrogen absorption phenomenon in different reactors, based on metal hydrides, were evaluated. The characteristics of the reaction kinetics in three different reactors using the same measurement conditions were compared. A numerical model describing the reaction kinetic of the H2 absorption by LaNi5 alloy validates the results were obtained. Of these results, it is found that the rate constant varies from one reactor to another. Moreover, the activation energy of the absorption kinetics were identified.