Pressure Resistance of Glass Capillaries for Hydrogen Storage

Kai Holtappels; Martin Beckmann-Kluge; Marek Gebauer; Dan Eliezer

doi:10.3139/120.110195

Article

Pressure Resistance of Glass Capillaries for Hydrogen Storage

Kai Holtappels , Martin Beckmann-Kluge , Marek Gebauer and Dan Eliezer

Published/Copyright: May 26, 2013

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From the journal Materials Testing Volume 53 Issue 1-2

Abstract

A crucial problem in the development of new hydrogen technologies is the need for lightweight and safe storage of acceptable amounts of hydrogen, in particular for portable or mobile applications. A new and innovative technology based on capillary arrays has been developed. These systems ensure the safe infusion, storage, and controlled release of hydrogen gas, even when storage pressures of up to 1200 bar are applied. This technology enables the storage of a significantly higher amount of hydrogen than other approaches. It has already surpassed the US Department of Energy's 2010 target, and is expected to meet the DOE's 2015 target in the near future. The main determinant in this storage technology is the pressure resistance of glass capillaries. It is well known that quartz, for example, is three times stronger than steel. At the same time, the density is about three times lower which means that much less material is necessary to reach the same pressure resistance. The pressure resistance of single capillaries has been determined in relation to various capillary materials and dimensions, wall thicknesses etc. in order to find out optimal parameters for the “final” capillaries.

Kurzfassung

Ein entscheidendes Problem neuer Wasserstofftechnologien ist die leichte und sichere Lagerung ausreichender Mengen an Wasserstoff insbesondere für Nutzung bei tragbaren oder mobilen Anwendungen. Eine neue und innovative Technologie basierend auf gebündel- te Kapillaren wurde entwickelt. Diese Systeme garantieren eine sichere Speicherung, Lagerung und kontrollierte Freisetzung von Wasserstoff, obgleich Speicherdrücke bis 1200 bar angewendet werden. Die neue Technologie ermöglicht die Lagerung einer erheblich größeren Menge Wasserstoff als andere Systeme und übertraf bereits die Zielsetzung des DOE 2010. Es wird erwartet, die DOE-Zielsetzung für das Jahr 2015 bereits in naher Zukunft zu erreichen. Hauptaspekt für die Speichertechnologie ist die Druckfestigkeit der Glaskapillaren. Es ist weithin bekannt, dass besonders Quarz eine dreimal höhere Festigkeit als Stahl hat. Gleichzeitig ist die Dichte ungefähr dreimal niedriger, was bedeutet, dass viel weniger Material notwendig ist, um die gleiche Druckfestigkeit zu erreichen. Die Druckfestigkeit einzelner Kapillare ist in der Abhängigkeit der Materialien, der Abmessungen, der Wandstärke etc. ermittelt worden, um optimale Parameter für die „finalen“ Kapillaren herauszufinden.

Dr. rer. nat. Kai Holtappels, born in 1971, earned his diploma and Ph.D. in chemistry from the Gerhard-Mercator-University of Duisburg. Since his Ph.D. he is working on gas explosion safety and safety related properties of gases in the department II “Chemical Safety Engineering” of the BAM Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing, Berlin.

Dipl.-Ing. Martin Beckmann-Kluge, born in 1977, earned his diploma in engineering from the Technical University of Applied Science in Wildau. He is also working on gas explosion safety and safety related properties of gases in the department II “Chemical Safety Engineering” of the BAM Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing, Berlin.

Dipl.-Ing. Marek Gebauer, born in 1970, earned his diploma in engineering from the University of Applied Science in Berlin. For his diploma he carried out the pressure tests with glasses. Actually he is working on exothermic decompositions of substances and systems in the department II “Chemical Safety Engineering” of the BAM Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing, Berlin.

Prof. Dan. Eliezer earned his B.Sc., M.Sc. and D.Sc. from the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel. Since 1988 he is full Professor at the Department of Materials Engineering of the Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel. He worked at different universities and research institutes across Europe, Asia and USA. Since the last years he has been working on hydrogen storage materials and technologies, hydrogen effects on advanced materials, magnesium science and technology and physical metallurgy and environmental behaviour of magnesium alloys.

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Published Online: 2013-05-26

Published in Print: 2011-02-01

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https://doi.org/10.3139/120.110195