Investigation of hydrogen transport properties through the liner material of 70 MPa type IV composite overwrapped pressure vessels

In zero-emission solutions for the hydrogen supply chain, high-pressure hydrogen storage in Type IV composite overwrapped pressure vessels (COPVs) is crucial for being safe and secure for a variety of stationary and transport applications. These COPVs consist of a polymeric liner material that works as a barrier for the stored hydrogen, while the carbon fiber-based composite provides the strength to hold the high-pressure hydrogen (of nominal working pressure more than 70 MPa to achieve the competitive driving range). Several experimental studies and simulation work have been performed on the viability of various polymers as low-permeability materials under low-pressure conditions. However, because of their proprietary nature and commercialized research, the characteristics of hydrogen permeation through polymers and their behavior at high pressure are still readily available in the literature. It is a major concern and the most crucial component of Type IV COPVs that these polymeric liners hold high pressure and maintain the necessary density of hydrogen (state of charge) toward operational requirements and safety concerns related to the cause of failures due to permeation (such as blistering, buckling, cracking, and so on). This paper investigates the role of polymeric liners on hydrogen permeation behavior using finite element modeling. For this, a UMATHT subroutine is developed within the Abaqus software to implement a new hydrogen permeation transport model with extended governing equations. Through the simulations and material modeling, the role of hydrogen transport properties (permeability, diffusivity, and solubility), structural characteristics (crystallinity, free volume, thickness) of plastic liners, and the role of operational parameters (concentration, pressure) are combined to validate the model from the experimental data in the literature to estimate the effective thickness required to maintain the permeation limit of the polymeric liner of Type IV COPVs.