Performance study of a hydrogen powered metal hydride actuator

Abstract

A thermally driven hydrogen powered actuator integrating metal hydride hydrogen storage reactor, which is compact, noiseless, and able to generate smooth actuation, is presented in this article. To test the plausibility of a thermally driven actuator, a conventional piston type actuator was integrated with LaNi 5 based hydrogen storage system. Copper encapsulation followed by compaction of particles into pellets, were adopted to improve overall thermal conductivity of the reactor. The operation of the actuator was thoroughly investigated for an array of operating temperature ranges. Temperature swing of the hydride reactor triggering smooth and noiseless actuation over several operating temperature ranges were monitored for quantification of actuator efficiency. Overall, the actuator generated smooth and consistent strokes during repeated cycles of operation. The efficiency of the actuator was found to be as high as 13.36% for operating a temperature range of 20 °C-50 °C. Stress-strain characteristics, actuation hysteresis etc were studied experimentally. Comparison of stress-strain characteristics of the proposed actuator with traditional actuators, artificial muscles and so on was made. The study suggests that design modification and use of high pressure hydride may enhance the performance and broaden the application horizon of the proposed actuator in future.