Microchannel Heat Exchanger Layout for Metal Hydride Refueling Heat
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The challenge is to develop a heat exchanger that efficiently removes heat generated during the hydriding process in metal hydrides for hydrogen storage in vehicles, which is crucial for fast refueling and maintaining process efficiency, while also withstanding high pressures and allowing for thermal expansion.
Innovation Solution
A heat exchanger design featuring a pressure vessel with multiple heat exchanging modules and a configuration of spirals and fins that keeps the metal hydride close to the cooling surface, utilizing a coolant medium like Dexcool, and optimizing parameters such as contact resistance and coolant flowrate to achieve rapid heat transfer and high-pressure compatibility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If metal hydride is used for hydrogen storage, then volumetric density is improved, but heat removal becomes more challenging due to exothermic reaction
Solution Approach 1:
The heat exchanger is divided into multiple serpentine channels that segment the coolant flow path, allowing heat to be removed from different regions of the metal hydride bed simultaneously. This segmentation enables efficient heat removal while maintaining high volumetric storage density by distributing thermal management across multiple zones.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transitions from simple linear or radial heat exchanger configurations to a three-dimensional serpentine network embedded within the metal hydride bed. This dimensional approach allows coolant to traverse through the volume of the storage bed, dramatically increasing heat transfer surface area and efficiency without compromising storage density.
2Productivity
If fast refueling is achieved by increasing hydriding rate, then productivity is improved, but heat generation increases making heat removal more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The serpentine heat exchanger configuration ensures continuous coolant flow through all channels, maintaining uninterrupted heat removal throughout the hydriding process. This continuous thermal management enables sustained high refueling rates by preventing temperature buildup that would otherwise slow the reaction kinetics.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention optimizes heat transfer parameters by configuring the serpentine channels with specific pitch, width, and depth dimensions that maximize surface area contact with metal hydride particles. These parameter optimizations enable the system to handle high heat generation rates during fast refueling while maintaining safe operating temperatures.
3Temperature
If heat exchanger surface area is increased to improve heat removal, then heat transfer efficiency is improved, but device complexity and volume increase
Solution Approach 1:
The serpentine heat exchanger structure serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides thermal management, structurally supports the metal hydride bed, and defines the coolant flow path. This multi-functionality reduces overall device complexity by eliminating the need for separate structural and thermal management components.
Solution Approach 2:
The heat exchanger channels are nested within the metal hydride storage bed, with the coolant flow path embedded inside the active storage volume. This nesting approach maximizes heat transfer surface area within the available space without increasing the external dimensions of the storage system, thereby avoiding additional volume and complexity.
4Quantity of substance
If high pressure is used to increase hydrogen density, then volumetric density is improved, but thermal expansion management becomes more critical
Solution Approach 1:
The heat exchanger design explicitly accounts for thermal expansion of metal hydride particles during cyclic hydriding and dehydriding operations. The serpentine channel configuration and surrounding structural elements provide accommodative space for volume changes, preventing stress buildup that would compromise system integrity under high-pressure conditions.
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 design enables efficient heat removal, allowing for fast refueling times and maintaining process efficiency by keeping the metal hydride at safe temperatures, even under high pressures, thus enhancing the volumetric and gravimetric density of hydrogen storage.
Implementation Method 1
efficient heat transfer
Implementation Method 2
coolant flowrate
Implementation Method 3
The hydriding (forward) process of the reaction absorbs the hydrogen
Implementation Method 4
The hydriding (forward) process of the reaction absorbs the hydrogen and releases heat
Data Source
AI summary
Various apparatus and methods for exchanging heat from a solid to a liquid. Some embodiments pertain to removing heat from a pressure vessel in which a gas absorption reaction is occurring. Yet other embodiments pertain to pressure vessels in which hydrogen is being absorbed into a metal hydride.