Numerical approach to analyze fluid flow in a type C tank for liquefied hydrogen carrier (part 1: Sloshing flow)

The demand for clean energy use has been increasing worldwide, and hydrogen has attracted attention as an alternative energy source. The efficient transport of hydrogen must be established such that hydrogen may be used as an energy source. In this study, we considered the influences of various parameters in the transportation of liquefied hydrogen using type C tanks in shipping vessels. The sloshing and thermal flows were considered in the transportation of liquefied hydrogen, which exists as a cryogenic liquid at ?253 °C. In this study, the sloshing flow was analyzed using a numerical approach. A multiphase sloshing simulation was performed using the volume of fluid method for the observation and analysis of the internal flow. First, a sloshing experiment according to the gas-liquid density ratio performed by other researchers was utilized to verify the simulation technique and investigate the characteristics of liquefied hydrogen. Based on the results of this experiment, a sloshing simulation was then performed for a type C cargo tank for liquefied hydrogen carriers under three different filling level conditions. The sloshing impact pressure inside of the tank was measured via simulation and subjected to statistical analysis. In addition, the influence of sloshing flow on the appendages installed inside of the type C tank (stiffened ring and swash bulkhead) was quantitatively evaluated. In particular, the influence of the sloshing flow inside of the type C tank on the appendages can be utilized as an important indicator at the design stage. Furthermore, if such sloshing impact forces are repeatedly experienced over an extended period of time under cryogenic conditions, the behavior of the tank and appendages must be analyzed in terms of fatigue and brittle failure to ensure the safety of the transportation operation.     

Economic competitiveness of compact steam methane reforming technology for on-site hydrogen supply: A Foshan case study

On-site hydrogen production through steam-methane reforming (SMR) from city gas or natural gas is believed to be a cost-effective way for hydrogen-based infrastructure due to high cost of hydrogen transportation. In recent years, there have been a lot of on-site hydrogen fueling stations under design or construction in China. This study introduces current developments and technology prospects of skid-mounted SMR hydrogen generator. Also, technical solutions and economic analysis are discussed based on China's first on-site hydrogen fueling station project in Foshan. The cost of hydrogen product from skid-mounted SMR hydrogen generator is about 23 CNY/kg with 3.24 CNY/Nm³ natural gas. If hydrogen price is 60 CNY/kg, IRR of on-site hydrogen fueling station project reaches to 10.8%. While natural gas price fall to 2.3 CNY/Nm³, the hydrogen cost can be reduced to 18 CNY/kg, and IRR can be raised to 13.1%. The conclusion is that skid-mounted SMR technology has matured and is developing towards more compact and intelligent design, and will be a promising way for hydrogen fueling infrastructures in near future.     

Enhanced gaseous hydrogen solubility in ferritic and martensitic steels at low temperatures

Metals that are exposed to high pressure hydrogen gas may undergo detrimental failure by embrittlement. Understanding the mechanisms and driving forces of hydrogen absorption on the surface of metals is crucial for avoiding hydrogen embrittlement. In this study, the effect of stress-enhanced gaseous hydrogen uptake in bulk metals is investigated in detail. For that purpose, a generalized form of Sievert's law is derived from thermodynamic potentials considering the effect of microstructural trapping sites and multiaxial stresses. This new equation is parametrized and verified using experimental data for carbon steels, which were charged under gaseous hydrogen atmosphere at pressures up to 1000 bar. The role of microstructural trapping sites on the parameter identification is critically discussed. Finally, the parametrized equation is applied to calculate the stress-enhanced hydrogen solubility of thin-walled pipelines and thick-walled pressure vessels during service.     

Analysis of operating limits and combustion state regulation for low-calorific value gases in industrial burners

The effective and efficient utilization of low-calorific value (LCV) gases has gained increasing attention in scientific research and industrial fields. In this study, the combustion characteristics of three LCV gases in practical devices are analyzed by using a nonadiabatic perfectly stirred reactor model. The complete steady-state solution in the temperature-residence time parameter space is obtained with arc-length continuation. The stable operation region is quantified by the eigenvalue analysis. The transition of solution curves is quantified with heat loss coefficient. Five key system parameters are systematically investigated on their effects on stability limits. With the combustion performance being quantified by a combustion state index, a combustion state regulation method is proposed to find the optimal regulation path of system parameters. Active subspace method is further applied to shorten the regulation step by identifying the active direction. The proposed method and findings are useful for optimal regulation of burning LCV gases in industrial burners.     

Effect of wind condition on unintended hydrogen release in a hydrogen refueling station

Ambient condition, especially the wind condition, is an important factor to determine the behavior of hydrogen diffusion during hydrogen release. However, only few studies aim at the quantitative study of the hydrogen diffusion in a wind-exist condition. And very little researches aiming at the variable wind condition have been done. In this paper, the hydrogen diffusion in different wind condition which including the constant wind velocity and the variable wind velocity is investigated numerically. When considering the variable wind velocity, the UDF (user defined function) is compiled. Characteristics of the FGC (flammable gas cloud) and the HMF (hydrogen mass fraction) are analyzed in different wind condition and comparisons are made with the no-wind condition. Results indicate that the constant wind velocity and the variable wind velocity have totally different effect for the determination of hydrogen diffusion. Comparisons between the constant wind velocity and the variable wind velocity indicate that the variable wind velocity may cause a more dangerous situation since there has a larger FGC volume. More importantly, the wind condition has a non-negligible effect when considering the HMF along the radial direction. As the wind velocity increases, the distribution of the HMF along the radial direction is not Gaussian anymore when the distance between the release hole and the observation line exceeds to a critical value. This work can be a supplement of the research on the hydrogen release and diffusion and a valuable reference for the researchers.     

Modeling unaccounted-for gas among residential natural gas consumers using a comprehensive fuzzy cognitive map

Residential natural gas consumption depends on several factors. Available tools and methods to identify, categorize, and validate effective factors have some limitations, making consumption modeling more complex. Once a comprehensive model of effective consumption factors is developed for residential gas consumers, it can predict consumption. In addition, such a model could be used to verify the accuracy of measuring devices in order to reduce unaccounted for gas (UFG). The key factors affecting residential gas consumption were identified based on previous studies and their mutual effects were analyzed using a fuzzy cognitive mapping (FCM) method. The most significant factors and their effects on natural gas consumption in the residential sector were determined. In this study, for the first time, the expected consumption for each consumer was estimated using a consumption index. Generally, if the estimated consumption is significantly different from the amount recorded by the meter, it could suggest a potential source of UFG. The proposed method was applied to the data collected from the residential gas consumers of a small region in Iran (Dasht-e Arjan region, Fars province), and the results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.     

Life cycle cost of conventional,battery electric,and fuel cell electric vehicles considering traffic and environmental policies in China

Electric vehicles (EVs) are considered a promising alternative to conventional vehicles (CVs) to alleviate the oil crisis and reduce urban air pollution and carbon emissions. Consumers usually focus on the tangible cost when choosing an EV or CV but overlook the time cost for restricting purchase or driving and the environmental cost from gas emissions, falling to have a comprehensive understanding of the economic competitiveness of CVs and EVs. In this study, a life cycle cost model for vehicles is conducted to express traffic and environmental policies in monetary terms, which are called intangible cost and external cost, respectively. Battery electric vehicles (BEVs), fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs), and CVs are compared in four first-tier, four new first-tier, and 4 s-tier and below cities in China. The comparison shows that BEVs and FCEVs in most cities are incomparable with CVs in terms of tangible cost. However, the prominent traffic and environmental policies in first-tier cities, especially in Beijing and Shanghai, greatly increase the intangible and external costs of CVs, making consumers more inclined to purchase BEVs and FCEVs. The main policy benefits of BEVs and FCEVs come from three aspects: government subsidies, purchase and driving restrictions, and environmental taxes. With the predictable reduction in government subsidies, traffic and environmental policies present important factors influencing the competitiveness of BEVs and FCEVs. In first-tier cities, BEVs and FCEVs already have a competitive foundation for large-scale promotion. In new first-tier and second-tier and below cities, stricter traffic and environmental policies need to be formulated to offset the negative impact of the reduction in government subsidies on the competitiveness of BEVs and FCEVs. Additionally, a sensitivity analysis reveals that increasing the mileage and reducing fuel prices can significantly improve the competitiveness of BEVs and FCEVs, respectively.     

Estimating long-term time-resolved indoor PM2.5 of outdoor and indoor origin using easily obtainable inputs

To evaluate the separate impacts on human health and establish effective control strategies, it is crucial to estimate the contribution of outdoor infiltration and indoor emission to indoor PM_2.5 in buildings. This study used an algorithm to automatically estimate the long-term time-resolved indoor PM_2.5 of outdoor and indoor origin in real apartments with natural ventilation. The inputs for the algorithm were only the time-resolved indoor/outdoor PM_2.5 concentrations and occupants’ window actions, which were easily obtained from the low-cost sensors. This study first applied the algorithm in an apartment in Tianjin, China. The indoor/outdoor contribution to the gross indoor exposure and time-resolved infiltration factor were automatically estimated using the algorithm. The influence of outdoor PM_2.5 data source and algorithm parameters on the estimated results was analyzed. The algorithm was then applied in four other apartments located in Chongqing, Shenyang, Xi'an, and Urumqi to further demonstrate its feasibility. The results provided indirect evidence, such as the plausible explanations for seasonal and spatial variation, to partially support the success of the algorithm used in real apartments. Through the analysis, this study also identified several further development directions to facilitate the practical applications of the algorithm, such as robust long-term outdoor PM_2.5 monitoring using low-cost light-scattering sensors.     

Experimental investigation of supercapacitor based regenerative energy storage for a fuel cell vehicle equipped with an alternator

Recently, researchers have devoted more attention to supercapacitors (SCs) to integrate with batteries in energy storage systems (ESSs) for vehicle applications. In this study, we attempted to characterize the use of SCs in the ESS for a PEM fuel cell vehicle equipped with an alternator to maximize the performance of regenerative braking. We applied lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) and SCs as energy storage devices to examine their effect on ESS. Then we used a hysteresis brake to apply controllable braking force on the flywheel to form hybrid braking (HB) and made efforts to study its behavior to suggest a braking control strategy. We also ran the whole system over the rotational speed to cover the range of driving speed. At last, we sized the SCs for the most commonly used fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) in Korea, i.e., Hyundai NEXO, based on the results obtained from the above study by alternator efficiencies.