Analysis of composite hydrogen storage cylinders subjected to localized flame impingements

A comprehensive non-linear finite element model is developed for predicting the behavior of composite hydrogen storage cylinders subjected to high pressure and localized flame impingements. The model is formulated in an axi-symmetric coordinate system and incorporates with various sub-models to describe the behavior of the composite cylinder under extreme thermo-mechanical loadings. A heat transfer sub-model is employed to predict the temperature evolution of the composite cylinder wall and accounts for heat transport due to decomposition and mass loss. A composite decomposition sub-model described by Arrhenius's law is implemented to predict the residual resin content of thermal damaged area. A sub-model for material degradation is implemented to account for the loss of mechanical properties. A progressive failure model is adopted to detect various types of mechanical failure. These sub-models are implemented in ABAQUS commercial finite element code using user subroutines. Numerical results are presented for thermal damage, residual properties and profile of resin content in the cylinder. The developed model provides a useful tool for safe design and structural assessment of high pressure composite hydrogen storage cylinders.     

Numerical modelling of transient heat transfer of hydrogen composite cylinders subjected to fire impingement

To improve the current design standards of the hydrogen composite cylinders, it is essential to understand the thermal response of the hydrogen composite cylinders subjected to fire impingement. In the present study, a fully coupled conjugate heat transfer model based on a multi-region and multi-physics approach is proposed for modelling the transient heat transfer behaviour of composite cylinders subjected to fire impingement. The fire scenario is modelled using the in-house version of FireFOAM, the large eddy simulation (LES) based fire solver within the frame of OpenFOAM. Three dimensional governing equations based on the finite volume method are written to model the heat transfer through the regions of composite laminate, liner and pressurized hydrogen, respectively. The governing equations are solved sequentially with temperature-dependent material properties and coupled interface boundary conditions. The proposed conjugate heat transfer model is validated against a bonfire test of a commercial Type-4 cylinder and its transient heat transfer behaviour is also studied.     

Fire tests carried out in FCH JU Firecomp project,recommendations and application to safety of gas storage systems

In the event of a fire, composite pressure vessels behave very differently from metallic ones: the material is degraded, potentially leading to a burst without significant pressure increase. Hence, such objects are, when necessary, protected from fire by using thermally-activated devices (TPRD), and standards require testing cylinder and TPRD together. The pre-normative research project FireComp aimed at understanding better the conditions which may lead to burst, through testing and simulation, and proposed an alternative way of assessing the fire performance of composite cylinders. This approach is currently used by Air Liquide for the safety of composite bundles carrying large amounts of hydrogen gas.     

Study of a post-fire verification method for the activation status of hydrogen cylinder pressure relief devices

To safely remove from its fire accident site a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle equipped with a carbon fiber reinforced plastic composite cylinder for compressed hydrogen (CFRP cylinder) and to safely keep the burnt vehicle in a storage facility, it is necessary to verify whether the thermally-activated pressure relief device (TPRD) of the CFRP cylinder has already been activated, releasing the hydrogen gas from the cylinder. To develop a simple post-fire verification method on TPRD activation, the present study was conducted on the using hydrogen densitometer and Type III and Type IV CFRP cylinders having different linings. As the results, TPRD activation status can be determined by measuring hydrogen concentrations with a catalytic combustion hydrogen densitometer at the cylinder's TPRD gas release port.     

Composite pressure vessels for hydrogen storage in fire conditions: Fire tests and burst simulation

A type IV composite pressure vessel subjected to fire may burst because of the degradation of the outer layers, but when the inner pressure is less than a critical value, leak is observed instead of burst. This phenomenon is due to the heat transfer through the composite shell which leads to liner melting. In order to characterize this failure mechanisms, engulfing fire tests have been performed in the framework of the FireComp project whose objective is to understand and simulate the fire performance of hydrogen storage. An experimental set-up has been implemented to expose the cylinders to fire by the means of gas injectors. A simple FE model has been developed to simulate the coupled effects of mechanical damage and of temperature. This approach is found to accurately predict the time to burst of the composite tank, as well as the transition between burst and leak.     

The residual strength of automotive hydrogen cylinders after exposure to flames

Fuel cell vehicles and some compressed natural gas vehicles are equipped with carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) composite cylinders. Each of the cylinders has a pressure relief device designed to detect heat and release the internal gas to prevent the cylinder from bursting in a vehicle fire accident. Yet in some accident situations, the fire may be extinguished before the pressure relief device is activated, leaving the high-pressure fuel gas inside the fire-damaged cylinder. To handle such a cylinder safely after an accident it is necessary that the cylinder keeps a sufficient post-fire strength against its internal gas pressure, but in most cases it is difficult to accurately determine cylinder strength at the accident site. One way of solving this problem is to predetermine the post-fire burst strengths of cylinders by experiments. In this study, automotive CFRP cylinders having no pressure relief device were exposed to a fire to the verge of bursting; then after the fire was extinguished the residual burst strengths and the overall physical state of the test cylinders were examined. The results indicated that the test cylinders all recorded a residual burst strength at least twice greater than their internal gas pressure for tested cylinders with new cylinder burst to nominal working pressure in the range 2.67–4.92 above the regulated ratio of 2.25.     

Analysis of millisecond collision of composite high pressure hydrogen storage cylinder

For vehicle-mounted high-pressure hydrogen storage cylinders, impact resistance is an important indicator. This work aims at building a model of 70 MPa composite fully wound Ⅳ cylinder around T800 carbon fiber material, investigating the law of transient changes in the body of the bottle under different velocity impacts and the source of risk of bursting. Through millisecond impact analysis, the energy transfer path and transformation trend inside the cylinder are obtained. Meanwhile, it was found that there was a clear pattern of positive correlation between the tensile and compressive stresses generated by the difference between the internal pressure of the bottle and the impact pressure. The final results show that after the impact, the failure occurred firstly at the inner wall of the fiber corresponding to the impact point, and the fiber damage spreads in all directions. The thickness of the failure pavement increases from the inside to the outside.     

Numerical investigation on temperature-rise of on-bus gaseous hydrogen storage cylinder with different thickness of liner and wrapping material

Gaseous hydrogen stored in high-pressure cylinder is a proper solution for the application of hydrogen fuel cell buses (HFCB). As far as the on-bus hydrogen storage system (OBHSS) is concerned, the filling of hydrogen gas needs to be finished in an acceptable time, which unavoidably brings the increase of temperature of hydrogen gas in OBHSS. And excessive temperature of hydrogen gas is unfavorable to mechanical properties of wrapping material and even the service life of the storage cylinder, so it is urgent to work out effective strategies on the temperature-rise in the storage cylinder. It is noticed that the studies on the relationship between the temperature-rise and the geometrical parameters of on-bus gaseous hydrogen storage cylinder (OBGHSC), e.g. thickness of liner and fiber/epoxy composite laminate, are still not deep enough. Motivated by this fact, this research is therefore devoted to studying the relationship between the temperature-rises of both hydrogen gas and solid materials in OBGHSC and the geometrical parameters of wrapping material and liner of OBGHSC, and to developing several temperature-rise correlations. To do so, a 2-dimensional (2D) axisymmetric computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model is applied for the simulation of fast filling process and holding process of 70 MPa OBGHSC. The simulation results show that the temperature distribution during the filling is different for different type III storage cylinders, while the highest temperature is always in the head dome junction region for type IV storage cylinders. For the carbon fiber/epoxy composite laminate (CFEC), the temperature varying tendencies are not the same for different type III storage cylinders, while the temperature in type IV storage cylinder decreases with the increase of thickness of CFEC. At last, based on the obtained numerical data, the correlations for highest value of mass-averaged temperature-rise of hydrogen gas and the correlations for maximum temperature-rise of CFEC that account for the effects of dimensionless parameters are proposed. The correlations reveal the relationship between the temperature-rise and the structure of hydrogen storage cylinder and can be used to direct the fast filling process for OBHSS in this research.     

Elasto-plastic fracture properties of an all-aluminium gas cylinder with different cracks

All-aluminium cylinders are used for on-board storage of compressed natural gas in vehicles. Besides being subjected to the maximum fill pressure, these cylinders are subjected to fluctuating pressures, due to refuelling operations. In order to establish a relevant test method to ensure leak before break failure performance, elasto-plastic finite element stress analysis of the design containing various defects was carried out to obtain a theoretical basis for the establishment of the test method. Axial semi-elliptical cracks in the central portion of the cylinder and circumferential cracks in the bottom of the cylinder are modelled using 20-node hexahedron elements. Not only the cylindrical body but also the neck and transition areas of the cylinder are considered in the modelling. Slender cracks with lengths approximately five times the wall thickness of the cylinder, which often appear in applied all-aluminium gas cylinders, are considered. Crack depths varied from 22.5% to 100% of the wall thickness. Through discussions about the calculated J-integral and crack mouth opening displacement (CMOD) of the axial and circumferential cracks, the effects of the different cracks on all-aluminium cylinders in the elasto-plastic deformation state are made clear. The analyses show that under the elasto-plastic deformation state, axial cracks in the centre of the cylinder are more dangerous for the cylinder than circumferential cracks in the bottom of the cylinder, if these are of the same size and under the same conditions. The axial external crack is found to be most severe among these different crack types. Finally, the CMOD of cylinders with an axial external crack have been measured by the experimental method and a good agreement between the calculated CMOD and the tested CMOD was reached.     

Fire risk on high-pressure full composite cylinders for automotive applications

In the event of a fire, the TPRD (Thermally activated Pressure Relief Device) prevents the high-pressure full composite cylinder from bursting by detecting high temperatures and releasing the pressurized gas. The current safety performance of both the vessel and the TPRD is demonstrated by an engulfing bonfire test. However, there is no requirement concerning the effect of the TPRD release, which may produce a hazardous hydrogen flame due to the high flow-rate of the TPRD. It is necessary to understand better the behavior of an unprotected composite cylinder exposed to fire in order to design appropriate protection for it and to be able to reduce the length of any potential hydrogen flame. For that purpose, a test campaign was performed on a 36 L cylinder with a design pressure of 70 MPa. The time from fire exposure to the bursting of this cylinder (the burst delay) was measured. The influence of the fire type (partial or global) and the influence of the pressure in the cylinder during the exposure were studied. It was found that the TPRD orifice diameter should be significantly reduced compared to current practice.     

Safety design of compressed hydrogen trailers with composite cylinders

Compressed hydrogen is delivered by trailers in steel cylinders at 19.6 MPa in Japan. Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. developed two compressed hydrogen trailers with composite cylinders in collaboration with JX Nippon Oil in a project of the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO).The first trailer, which was the first hydrogen trailer with composite cylinder in Japan, has 35 MPa cylinders and the second trailer has 45 MPa cylinders. These trailers have been operated transporting hydrogen and feedstock to hydrogen refueling stations without the accident. This paper describes the safety design, including compliance with regulations, the influence of vibrations, and safety verification in case of a collision.     

Novel multi-center concave bottom for hydrogen storage cylinder

Hydrogen storage steel cylinders are the earliest and widely used hydrogen storage vessels. Fatigue cracks are easy to initiate and grow under hydrogen pressure, which threatens the safety of users. Although hydrogen has an effect on the initiation and growth of fatigue cracks, a reasonable structure of cylinder will make the stress distribution more reasonable and reduce the probability of crack initiation from the source. This paper researched the multi-center concave bottom for hydrogen storage cylinder. The geometric design parameters of the new base end are determined by the orthogonal design method. We analyze the effects of various parameters on the multi-center concave base end by using the finite element method. Based on the finite element analysis (FEA) of different structure, the results show that the stress concentration of new base end can be greatly reduced, and the minimum stress concentration factor is close to 1.1. The results provide valuable insights for designing and manufacturing the new type of seamless gas cylinder. The corresponding gas cylinder that we processed according to the simulation had successfully passed a series of tests.     

Experimental and finite element prediction of bursting pressure in compound cylinders

Aluminium cylinders with a constant ratio of outer to inner radii, k=2.2, with different diametral interferences and various shrinkage radii were subjected to bursting and autofrettage pressures. Numerical simulations of the compound cylinders were also performed using the finite element code, NISA. The results can predict the optimum shrinkage radius to a reasonable accuracy with the use of finite element analysis. This radius corresponds to the situation when the maximum von-Mises stress at the internal radii of both the inner and outer cylinders become equal. It was shown that the maximum von-Mises stress across the wall of the cylinder is at the minimum at this shrinkage radius. The optimum diametral interference was found to be that which sufficiently brought the contact surface of the inner and outer cylinders to the point of yielding. Should the shrinkage pressure exceed the elastic limit, the pressure capacity of the cylinder will not be improved. The numerical and experimental results show that autofrettage had no effect on the bursting pressure of the thick-walled compound cylinder for the material tested.     

Predicting radiative characteristics of hydrogen and hydrogen/methane jet fires using FireFOAM

A possible consequence of pressurized hydrogen release is an under-expanded jet fire. Knowledge of the flame length, radiative heat flux as well as the effects of variations in ground reflectance is important for safety assessment. The present study applies an open source CFD code FireFOAM to study the radiation characteristics of hydrogen and hydrogen/methane jet fires. For combustion, the eddy dissipation concept for multi-component fuels recently developed by the authors in the large eddy simulation (LES) framework is used. The radiative heat is computed with the finite volume discrete ordinates model in conjunction with the weighted sum of grey gas model for the absorption/emission coefficient. The pseudo-diameter approach is used in which the corresponding parameters are calculated using the formulations of Birch et al. [24] with the thermodynamic properties corrected by the Able-Noble equation of state. The predicted flame length and radiant fraction are in good agreement with the measurements of Schefer et al. [2], Studer et al. [3] and Ekoto et al. [6]. In order to account for the effects of variation in ground surface reflectance, the emissivity of hydrogen flames was modified following Ekoto et al. [6]. Four cases with different ground reflectance are computed. The predictions show that the ground surface reflectance only has minor effect on the surface emissive power of the smaller hydrogen jet fire of Ekoto et al. [6]. The radiant fractions fluctuate from 0.168 to 0.176 close to the suggested value of 0.16 by Ekoto et al. [6] based on the analysis of their measurements.     

Detailed simulations of the transient hydrogen mixing,leakage and flammability in air in simple geometries

During an accidental release, hydrogen disperses very quickly in air due to a relatively high density difference. A comprehensive understanding of the transient behavior of hydrogen mixing and the associated flammability limits in air is essential to support the fire safety and prevention guidelines. In this study, a buoyancy diffusion computational model is developed to simultaneously solve for the complete set of equations governing the unsteady flow of hydrogen. A simple vertical cylinder is considered to investigate the transient behavior of hydrogen mixing, especially at relatively short times, for different release scenarios: (i) the sudden release of hydrogen at the cylinder bottom into air with open, partially open, and closed tops, and (ii) small hydrogen jet leaks at the bottom into a closed geometry. Other cases involving the hydrogen releases/leaks at the cylinder top are also explored to quantify the relative roles of buoyancy and diffusion in the mixing process. The numerical simulations display the spatial and temporal distributions of hydrogen for all the configurations studied. The complex flow patterns demonstrate the fast formation of flammable zones with implications in the safe and efficient use of hydrogen in various applications.     

Magnetothermostress Wave Propagation and Perturbation of Magnetic Field Vector in an Orthotropic Laminated Hollow Cylinder

An analytical method is developed to determine the transient response of magneto-thermostress and perturbation of the magnetic field vector produced in orthotropic laminated hollow cylinders subjected to thermal shock, and permeated by a primarily uniform magnetic field. A magnetothermostress equation for each separate hollow cylinder is found by making use of a series of simply mathematical transform. Then, by using the interface continuity conditions between layers and the boundary conditions at the internal and external surfaces of the orthotropic laminated hollow cylinders, the unknown constants involved are determined. Thus, an exact expression for the magnetothermostress wave propagation and the perturbation response of magnetic field vector in the orthotropic laminated hollow cylinders are obtained. From sample numerical calculations, some characters of magnetothermodynamic stresses and perturbation of magnetic field vector in orthotropic laminated hollow cylinders are revealed and discussed.     

Elastic fracture properties of all-steel gas cylinders with different axial crack types

All steel cylinders are being used for on-board storage of compressed natural gas in vehicles. Typical maximum fill pressure for these cylinder is 25.85 MPa (3750 psi). These cylinders are subjected to fluctuating pressures, due to the refueling operation. In order to establish a relevant test method to ensure leak before break failure performance in the event of a through-wall cracking, the finite element stress analysis of the design containing various defects has to be firstly carried out to get some theoretical basis for the establishment of the test method. External and internal axial semi-elliptical surface cracks are modeled. Crack front regions are modeled using singular elements, whereas the rest of the cylinder is modeled using twenty-node hexahedron elements. Not only the cylindrical body but also the neck and transition areas of the cylinder are considered in the modeling. Slender cracks with approximately 10 times the wall thickness of the cylinder, which often appear in the engineering application of all steel gas cylinders, are considered. The crack depths varied from 25% to 100% of the wall thickness. Analysis is also carried out for the cylinder with through-wall axial cracks, which have similar crack lengths with external and internal surface cracks. The cylinders are assumed to be in the elastic deformation state. Stress intensity factor, K_I, and crack mouth opening displacement, CMOD, as the functions of internal pressure, crack size, location (external verdus internal) and shape (elliptical versus straight-fronted), are established. Calculated results are compared with published results. Deep axial external cracks are found to be more severe than axial internal surface cracks having similar crack lengths. Crack driving force for a semi-elliptical through-wall crack is found to be significantly less than that of a straight-fronted through-wall cracks, which have the same crack length. So, the establishment of a relevant test method to ensure leak before break failure performance in the event of through-wall cracking is of high practical value for the engineering design and application of these cylinders.     

Application of PET as a non-metallic liner for the 6.8 L type-4 cylinder based on the hydrogen cycling test

This study aims to find the evidence that polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is pertinent, with respect to the risk of thermal degradation during fueling, as a liner material of a type-4 composite cylinder for storing 6.8 L of compressed hydrogen. In particular, one type-4 cylinder with the PET liner of thickness 0.6 mm and one type-3 cylinder for comparison have simultaneously undergone 6 cycles of fast fueling (0.15 MPa/s) and fast defueling (0.55 MPa/s) with hydrogen gas in the range of 2 to 45 MPa. The hydrogen temperatures in cylinders, which were measured by a specially-devised thermocouple inserted in each cylinder, change within the range of ?30.0 to 70.0 ^°C. Although the temperature in the type-4 cylinder rises higher than that in the type-3 cylinder due to the lower heat conductivity of PET, it does not exceed 85 ^°C, which is the limit set by the international standards, EC No. 79. Furthermore, from the measurements of the deformation by the laser displacement sensors, the type-4 cylinder swells less than the type-3 cylinder. The pressure-displacement analysis shows that the deformation of type-4 cylinders occurs reversibly, i.e., defueling makes the cylinder regain its previous shape. In essence, PET is safe against thermal degradation when applied as a liner of a 6.8 L type-4 cylinder for hydrogen storage.     

Experimental study of conjugate heat transfer within a bottom heated vertical concentric cylindrical enclosure

In this research work an experimental study of conjugate heat transfer within an air filled bottom-heated vertical enclosure is conducted. The enclosure consists of two concentric cylinders with inner cylinder being shorter and open at the top. The study is important with respect to the centrifuge machine used in the process industry. Eighteen different experiments are performed by varying the bottom disc central temperature between 353 and 433 K, using three different materials (aluminum, mild steel and stainless steel) of the inner cylinder and two different diameter outer cylinders of mild steel. This study unfolds the temperature, material and geometric effects of bottom disc, inner cylinder and outer cylinder respectively on thermal convection in the enclosure. Generally, a uniform temperature is required in such enclosures. A more uniform axial and radial temperature is observed in the enclosure by using aluminum inner cylinder within a temperature range of 353–433 K of the bottom disc and using two different diameter outer cylinders. It is observed that the maximum temperature in the enclosure is lowest for aluminum inner cylinder and higher for mild steel and highest for stainless steel. The heat balance and non-dimensional analysis of the enclosure are carried out and discussed critically.