Modeling thermal response of polymer composite hydrogen cylinders subjected to external fires

Abstract

With the anticipated introduction of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles to the market, there is an increasing need to address the fire resistance of hydrogen cylinders for onboard storage. Sufficient fire resistance is essential to ensure safe evacuation in the event of car fire accidents. The authors have developed a Finite Element (FE) model for predicting the thermal response of composite hydrogen cylinders within the frame of the open source FE code Elmer. The model accounts for the decomposition of the polymer matrix and effects of volatile gas transport in the composite. Model comparison with experimental data has been conducted using a classical one-dimensional test case of polymer composite subjected to fire. The validated model was then used to analyze a type-4 hydrogen cylinder subjected to an engulfing external propane fire, mimicking a published cylinder fire experiment. The external flame is modelled and simulated using the open source code FireFOAM. A simplified failure criteria based on internal pressure increase is subsequently used to determine the cylinder fire resistance.

Small-Scale High-Pressure Hydrogen Storage Vessels: A Review

“…The second mode of failure is thermal (high and low temperature) instability and thermal aging, resulting from exposure to extreme temperatures and temperature changes. This can cause a reduction in the mechanical properties and hydrogen barrier properties [60,61]. The third type of failure is caused by stress and strain [62,63].…”

Performance of hydrogen storage tank with TPRD in an engulfing fire

“…The FRR was 8 min 3 s for the new tank and 9 min 42 s for the "old" tank (passed cycling test), respectively. It is worth noting that the 36 L tank had a different wall and liner thickness in the dome part and the cylindrical part of the tank: dome part had a liner thickness of 5.27 mm and CFRP thickness of 22.26 mm; the sidewall part had a thinner liner of 3.8 mm and thicker load-bearing wall of 27.75 mm [15], [47], [48], [51]. Thus, the dome part of this tank defines the FRR.…”