Hydrogen Refueling Cooling System with Solid-Phase Thermal Storage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing hydrogen refueling stations face inefficiencies in cooling systems due to fluctuating utilization periods, leading to high energy consumption and compromised heat transfer properties when using ice slurry buffers, which degrade efficiency and require constant energy maintenance.
Innovation Solution
A hydrogen refueling station with a cooling system featuring a primary cooling loop and a solid phase tank, utilizing a buffer valve to control refrigerant flow between loops, allowing efficient heat transfer with liquid phase refrigerant and thermal energy storage with solid phase refrigerant, increasing cooling capacity without enlarging components.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If a cooling system is scaled according to high utility periods, then cooling capacity is sufficient during peak demand, but energy consumption increases during low utilization periods
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-cools hydrogen during low-utilization periods and stores it in a buffer tank, so that pre-cooled hydrogen is available during high-utilization periods. This preliminary action avoids the need to run the cooling system at full capacity during low-demand periods, reducing energy consumption while ensuring cooling capacity is available when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a copy of the cooling function by using a buffer tank that stores pre-cooled hydrogen. Instead of continuously running the cooling system, the buffer tank replicates the cooling effect by providing stored cold hydrogen during peak periods, thereby reducing the energy consumption of the active cooling system.
2Temperature
If ice slurry is used as a cooling buffer, then cooling capacity is increased during high utilization periods, but heat transfer properties are degraded
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the solid ice phase from the heat exchanger and places it in a separate buffer tank. Only liquid refrigerant circulates through the heat exchanger, maintaining optimal heat transfer properties. The solid ice in the buffer tank provides cooling capacity without degrading heat transfer efficiency, as it does not come into direct contact with the heat exchanger surfaces.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses liquid refrigerant as an intermediary between the solid ice buffer and the hydrogen being cooled. The liquid refrigerant absorbs heat from hydrogen in the heat exchanger, then transfers this heat to the solid ice in the buffer tank. This intermediary approach maintains efficient heat transfer in the heat exchanger while still utilizing the high cooling capacity of solid ice.
3Temperature
If ice slurry buffer is used, then cooling capacity is increased, but additional energy is required to constantly maintain the ice slurry
Solution Approach 1:
The system allows the ice slurry in the buffer tank to maintain itself passively during low-utilization periods without requiring active cooling. The accumulated ice from previous operations provides sufficient cooling capacity for subsequent high-utilization periods, eliminating the need for continuous energy input to maintain the ice slurry.
4Temperature
If cooling system components are enlarged to handle peak demand, then cooling capacity is sufficient, but device complexity and size increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses a buffer tank to store pre-cooled hydrogen during low-utilization periods. This preliminary cooling action allows the main cooling system to be smaller, as it only needs to handle peak demand periods rather than continuously operating at full capacity. The buffer tank absorbs the variability in demand, enabling a more compact overall system design.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system provides efficient cooling capacity during high demand periods with reduced energy consumption by utilizing solid phase refrigerant as a buffer, maintaining compact size and efficiency without degrading heat transfer properties.
Implementation Method 1
a solid phase tank configured to store the refrigerant in a solid phase
Implementation Method 2
a heat exchanger configured to cool the hydrogen flow by establishing a heat transfer between the hydrogen flow and the refrigerant
Implementation Method 3
a solid phase tank comprising a refrigerant in a solid phase... controlling a flow of the refrigerant between the solid phase tank and the primary cooling loop
Data Source
AI summary
A hydrogen refueling station (1) for filling a vessel (2) of a vehicle (3) with hydrogen from a storage via a dispensing module (5) comprises a cooling system (7) configured to cool the hydrogen flow. The cooling system comprises a primary cooling loop (8) comprising a refrigerant in a liquid phase, a first heat exchanger (9), a compressor (10), a second heat exchanger (11) thermally coupled to the flow of hydrogen, a solid phase tank (13) being connectable to the primary cooling loop via a buffer conduit (15) comprising a buffer valve (16), a controller (17) configured to control a cooling of said hydrogen flow via the second heat exchanger by controlling a flow of the refrigerant in the primary cooling loop and further configured to increase a cooling capacity of the second heat exchanger by controlling a state of the buffer valve.