Desorption performance analysis of a metal hydride reactor with novel corrugated fins based on finite element method

doi:10.11949/0438-1157.20240775

Abstract

Abstract:

Novel metal hydride reactors with corrugated fins were proposed for the efficient hydrogen release in the field of clean energy technology. Through reliable finite element numerical simulation, the influence of heat exchange fin structure parameters and heat exchange fluid flow rate on the reactor hydrogen release time is obtained. The results show that the desorption rate and heat transfer in reactor can be simulated accurately using the finite element model. The optimized reactor with 5 mm fin height, 2 mm fin length, 13 fins was obtained, and the hydrogen desorption time for 0.1% (mass) storage capacity is 24% shorter than that of the conventional circular fin reactor. When the Reynolds number of heat transfer fluid increases from 1780 to 11860, the saturation time of hydrogen discharge decreases from 930 s to 700 s. In addition, corrugated fins are easy to be manufactured and have great potential for industrial applications.

Key words: metal hydride, reactor, transport process, numerical simulation, desorption performance, heat transfer fins

摘要：

旨在开发一种新型波纹换热翅片金属氢化物反应器，以期满足清洁能源技术领域对高效氢气释放性能的迫切需求。通过可靠的有限元数值模拟，得到了换热翅片结构参数、换热流体流动速度对反应器放氢时间的影响。结果表明：基于有限元数值模型可以准确得到反应器内部温度以及存储容量变化；翅片高度5 mm、翅片长度2.0 mm、翅片数目13为最优的反应器结构，其氢气释放时间比传统圆盘翅片反应器缩短了24%；换热流体流速对放氢速率有明显改善，当Reynolds数从1780增加到11860时，放氢饱和时间从930 s缩短到700 s。此外波纹翅片易于制造的特性，有利于其在工业领域进行大规模的制造和使用。

关键词: 金属氢化物, 反应器, 传递过程, 数值模拟, 放氢性能, 换热翅片

CLC Number:

TQ 116.2

Hanbin WANG, Shuai HU, Fenglei BI, Junsen LI, Laibin HE. Desorption performance analysis of a metal hydride reactor with novel corrugated fins based on finite element method[J]. CIESC Journal, 2025, 76(1): 221-230.

王瀚彬, 胡帅, 毕丰雷, 李隽森, 贺来宾. 新型波纹翅片金属氢化物反应器的放氢性能有限元分析[J]. 化工学报, 2025, 76(1): 221-230.

Figures/Tables 11

Fig.1 Cross section of the metal hydride hydrogen storage reactor

Fig.2 (a) Geometry of novel corrugated fins and annulus; (b) Simulation domain including metal hydride in gray [corrugated fins in yellow, annulus wall in white and heat transfer fluid in blue]

Table 1 Dimensions of the LaNi5 reactor

结构参数	数值
反应器高度H /mm	130
反应器直径D /mm	56
波纹翅片单元高度H_fin /mm	2、5、7
波纹翅片直径D_fin /mm	52
波纹翅片单元长度L_fin /mm	2.0、3.5、5.0
波纹翅片厚度δ_fin /mm	0.5
波纹翅片间距H_fs /mm	9.5
换热套管内径d_in /mm	6
换热套管外径d_out /mm	13
换热套管壁厚δ_out /mm	0.5

Fig.3 (a) Fitting of pressure-concentration isotherms; (b) Kinetic validation of LaNi5 alloy at T=303 K

Table 2 Coefficients of the seven-order equilibrium pressure polynomial function

拟合系数（0.1 MPa）	数值
c₀	1.917e^-10
c₁	5.769
c₂	-8.394
c₃	6.578
c₄	-2.927
c₅	0.7314
c₆	-0.09496
c₇	0.004966

Fig.4 Evolution of average bed temperature and average bed storage capacity at Pd=0.1 MPa, Tin=333 K and Re=1780 for different simulated mesh sizes

Fig.5 Model validation of hydrogen desorption in LaNi5 reactor: (a) present simulated bed temperature vs literature results[23] at r=15 mm, P=8.5×10-3 MPa and T=291 K; (b) present simulated bed temperature and bed storage capacity vs literature results[28] at P=0.1 MPa and T=363 K

Fig.6 Comparison of circular fins and corrugated fins： (a) evolution of average bed temperature； (b) evolution of average bed storage capacity； (c) distribution of bed temperature at t=100, 400, 700, 1000, 1100, 1250 s

Fig.7 Effect of corrugated fin height on the hydrogen desorption performance in reactor at Pd=0.1 MPa, Tin=333 K and Re=1780: (a) average bed temperature for the cases with 13 fins; (b) average bed storage capacity for the cases with 13 fins; (c) average bed temperature for the cases with 7 fins; (d) average bed storage capacity for the cases with 7 fins

Fig.8 Effect of corrugated fin length on the hydrogen desorption performance in reactor at Pd=0.1 MPa, Tin=333 K and Re=1780: (a) average bed temperature for the cases with 13 fins; (b) average bed storage capacity for the cases with 13 fins; (c) average bed temperature for the cases with 7 fins; (d) average bed storage capacity for the cases with 7 fins

Fig.9 Effect of heating water Reynolds number on the hydrogen desorption performance in reactor with Lfin=2.0 mm, Hfin=5 mm and 13 fins (Pd=0.1 MPa，Tin=333 K)

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