A numerical investigation of hydrogen absorption phenomena in thin double-layered annulus ZrCo beds

In this paper, a three-dimensional (3-D) hydrogen absorption model is applied to a thin double-layered annulus ZrCo hydride bed and validated against the temperature evolution data measured by Kang et al. [1]. In their experiment, the monitored hydrogen tank pressure decreased with time due to continuous hydrogen supply to a ZrCo hydride bed; hence, the effect of decreasing hydrogen feed pressure is considered for simulations. The equilibrium pressure expression for hydrogen absorption on ZrCo is derived as a function of temperature and the H/M atomic ratio based on the pressure–composition isotherm data given by Konishi et al. [2]. In general, the calculated results agreed well with the temperature evolution data, and the hydrogen charging time for 99% absorption was accurately captured by the model. In addition, detailed simulation results, including multidimensional contours, clearly elucidate the hydrogen absorption behavior of the thin double-layered ZrCo MHB.