Analytical Assessment of the Mechanical Design of a Metal Getter Bed for Hydrogen Storage

Abstract

Compact solid state hydrogen storage systems using metal or alloy based getter beds have gained worldwide attention. The vessels containing the metallic getter are required to operate under both external and internal pressure conditions, with accompanying cooling and heating cycles. Thus the mechanical design of these vessels must take care of several kinds of loads, some of which are addressed in this work. Selection of optimal dimensions, closures and suitable supports for the vessel are considered, followed by the preliminary steady state thermal stress and seismic analyses to ensure a stable and robust mechanical design under usual operating conditions. A method of evaluation of the cyclic loads acting on the vessel has also been demonstrated which will be useful for fatigue analysis of the vessel. These checks are recommended at the vessel design stage itself since they do not necessitate expenditure of large amounts of computational time, which would be required for a full finite element based stress analysis of the vessel.

Cite this Article

Rupsha Bhattacharyya. Analytical Assessment of the Mechanical Design of a Metal Getter Bed for Hydrogen Storage. Journal of Experimental & Applied Mechanics. 2015; 6(3): 1–13p.