Parametric study of hydrogen filling process in type IV tank based on CFD simulation

Abstract

Currently, with the gradual increase in the use of automobiles, the use of fossil fuels is also gradually increasing, which inevitably brings about the problem of environmental pollution. Fuel cell vehicles use hydrogen as an energy source, and high-pressure hydrogen storage is widely used to store the hydrogen needed for fuel cell vehicles. The safe and efficient storage of hydrogen is a technical difficulty that restricts the development of fuel cell vehicles. This paper takes the real gas equation of state and thermodynamic conservation equation as the theoretical basis, and uses COMSOL Multiphysics to carry out a modelling study on the hydrogen filling process. It was indicated that the mass flow rate has a large effect on both the pressure and the temperature of the hydrogen in the tank and a reasonable setting of the mass flow rate can reduce the pressure and temperature for a certain filling mass. In addition, the final temperature and pressure of hydrogen decreases as the inlet temperature decreases, and pre-cooling is an effective way to reduce the temperature of the hydrogen tank. The final temperature and pressure of the hydrogen in the tank decreases as the filling time increases. The higher the initial pressure of hydrogen, the shorter the time required for filling and the lower the final temperature of hydrogen. Meanwhile, the final SOC (State of Charge) of hydrogen becomes larger as the initial pressure increases. The results of the study are of guiding significance for the optimal design of hydrogen filling strategies in hydrogen refuelling stations.