Thermodynamic modelling, testing and sensitive analysis of a directly pressurized hydrogen refuelling process with a compressor

Abstract

This paper presents the development of a thermodynamic model for the hydrogen refuelling station (HRS) to simulate the process of refuelling, which involves the transfer of hydrogen gas from a high-pressure storage tank to the onboard tank of a fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV). This model encompasses the fundamental elements of an HRS, which consists of a storage tank, compressor, piping system, heat exchanger, and an on-board vehicle tank. The model is implemented and validated using experimental data from SAE J2601. Various simulations are conducted to assess the impact of the Joule-Thomson effect and compression on the temperature of hydrogen flow, specifically focusing on an average pressure rate of 18 MPa/min. Furthermore, a comprehensive analysis is conducted to examine the impact of pressure variations in the storage tank (10–90 MPa) and the initial pressure within the vehicle tank (5–35 MPa), as well as variations in ambient temperature (0–40 °C). The study revealed that the energy consumption in the cooling system surpasses the average power consumption in the more advantageous scenario of 60 MPa by a range of 36% to over 220% when the pressure in the storage system drops below 30 MPa. Furthermore, it was noted that the impact of ambient temperature is comparatively less significant when compared to the initial pressure of the vehicle's tank. The impact of an ambient temperature change of 10 °C on the final temperature of a hydrogen vehicle is found to be approximately 2 °C. Similarly, a variation in the initial vehicle pressure of 10 MPa results in a modification of the final hydrogen vehicle temperature by approximately 8.5 °C.