Sensitivity analysis and calibration for a two-dimensional state-space model of metal hydride storage tanks based on experimental data

Abstract

In this paper, a state-space model of a metal hydride tank is formulated and analyzed in detail. Firstly, a three-dimensional state-space model of the metal hydride tank is simplified by assuming that the tank temperature can be measured. Secondly, the model is completed with a pipe model, which allows to compute the input flow from the pipe pressure that can be easily measured. The proposed model solves the problem that the conventional metal hydride tank models usually take the mass flow rate as input and ignore the pressure as system input. Thirdly, the first-order trajectory sensitivity analysis method is adopted to determine the sensitivity of selected unknown parameters. Latter, the particle swarm optimization algorithm is used to estimate the unknown model parameters from experimental data. Finally, a comparison between experimental data and simulation results demonstrates that the proposed model can reflect the dynamic characteristics of the metal hydride tank.