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Washington State University Innovation for Sustainable Energy

Hydrogen Compression: The Challenge

In March of 2013, it was stated by Mr. Bill Elrick of the California Fuel Cell Partnership that one of the hindrances to deployment of fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) is the lack of standardization and codes.1 The U.S. Department of Energy states, “It is projected that the current state of hydrogen compressor technology will not be able to meet future infrastructure demands in a cost-effective manner.”2. Currently, the best that hydrogen compressor technology can give us is compression of hydrogen gas using methods that result in considerable wear to hydrogen compressors. Research is now being conducted to solve this problem. A team of researchers at FuelCell Energy was recognized in 2009 for the development of a single-stage electrochemical hydrogen compressor (EHC) design that is able to compress hydrogen up to 6,000 psi. The main advantage of their design is the lack of moving parts.2 Additionally, research has been done by a team of researchers in China in order to attempt to discover the root cause of reciprocating piston hydrogen compressor failure. The paper submitted by this team describes experimental validation of two hypotheses: (1) That piston sealing ring failure is due to non-uniform pressure distribution, and (2) that failure of pistons is due to severe impact. Based on these discoveries, parameters were set forth for the design of better reciprocating hydrogen compressors.3 Likewise, research has been done to try to discover the cause of failure for diaphragm compressors.4

So hydrogen compressor design is still in its early stages. New designs are being invented and older designs are being updated for use with hydrogen. In terms of reliability, our most promising design is the scroll compressor. It has the fewest moving parts and is the technology that is the farthest along in development. In terms of getting the desired pressure, the reciprocating piston design is best. This method of compression has been utilized many times and perfected. The main flaw, though, is reliability. So our challenge is to find a compressor that is both reliable and functional for our needs.

Related codes and standards:

(1) Ahmed and E. Sutherland. 2013 Hydrogen Compression, Storage, and Dispensing Cost Workshop Final Report. USDOE. http://www1.eere.energy.gov/hydrogenandfuelcells/pdfs/2013_csd_workshop_report.pdf
(2) “Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Award Success Story.” http://www.fuelcellenergy.com/assets/Electrochemical-Hydrogen-Compressor-EHC.pdf
(3) Yu, Wang. “Research on sealing performance and self-acting valve reliability in high-pressure oil-free hydrogen compressors for hydrogen refueling stations.” International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol. 35, Issue 15, August 2010, pages 8063-8070.
(4) Rohatgi, Aashish. “Investigation of H2 Diaphragm Compressors to Enable Low-Cost Long-Life Operation.” DOE Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Program. http://www.hydrogen.energy.gov/pdfs/progress14/iii_10_rohatgi_2014.pdf

Meeting Minutes: 2016-02-27

Meeting Start Time: 12:14

Meeting called to order

Website Updates

We’re trying to target 1 post per week of updates to the website, so we can show our progress real-time. This is a great opportunity to write up what you want to discuss at the next meeting!

A page has been created for all the sub teams we’ve seen so far. Please keep this updated as necessary! Current 316 teams are working on the HYPER lab website, and will move their information over before/during spring break.

We will have to make decision about what content to put on the static component pages at some point – make them fit a standard, so everyone is sharing the same information we deem important.

Things we need right now – filler text for Team and Personal Bios. Please send changes to Eli or make changes to update this information if you have access to the site. If you want access to the site, talk with Eli after the meeting and he’ll add you as an editor.

Eli is building out a people page with a liked table of contents to allow jumping to each person. (Think Wikipedia TOC at the beginning of the page – allows you to jump to a section on the page or in a link you send someone.)

Question on how we should be communicating – use Slack for communication between group, website is our public presence to share what we’re doing with the world. The more we share outside the group, the more interest we can get from people who may want to help us out. That being said, if we’re able to find something another group is doing through the website without having to ask them – all the better!

Poll Interest in Wild Horse Wind Facility Tour:

There is significant interest, a Schedule matrix will be posted.

Steven Bell Updates on Club administration:

Steven attended the VCEACC meeting about Level one and two funding. The next meeting is required and on March 24. See VCEACC website for details. March 1 deadline to submit for Level Two matched funding.

Matching money goes into an RSO account. Can match funding that was either put into the RSO account or a departmental account.

Jake suggests approaching Pullman Building Supply, Fastenal, others about funding sponsorship – if we do this before March 1, we may be able to include it to get matched funds.

Jake is applying for a Cyber Grant in the $10k to 50k range from Boeing to help the project out.

Development of a crowd funding video continues, Johnny Wang leads production. Some people may be asked to provide sound bytes or video for this.

Team Updates:

[Four from the compressor group show up to the meeting] Eli requests the compressor team post updates weekly, and send the same bios that we discussed earlier.

Purification:

Conference call with Ability engineering. Safety, safety, safety. Skeptical of schedule and surprised at the attempt to run at 300 psi. Expansion to liquefy N2 without liquefying H2. Jake asks they engage with their client (Jake) to define scope. No longer thinking about using a distillation column or membrane seperation. Recommended Soltzer, etc. Jake: molecular sieve approach. Palladium requires 600 C. Jake is free 10:30 to 1:30 Tuesday. Schedule talk.

Vortex:

Global model with variable, honeycomb, flow sim., Jake suggests they talk to Kevin. Need fine fins and lots of catalyst. We could print a vortex tube if it seemed useful. Eli has two months to show 5% conversion using catalyst in the tube. Flow straighteners will give higher performance with shorter/longer tube. Our biggest target will be to get surface area up to allow for increased ruthenium plating. Kevin has CFD. Mitchell discusses the need for rapid iteration.

Heat Exchanger:

A flange is being designed, the hope to have a working SolidWorks model by end of week. Simulations should be done by Spring Break. Eli shares that a representative code run yesterday with Marshall showed a final quality of 70% with tank pressure of 2 atm. Jake states that the best performance in hydrogen will be at 28 K, but we can still operate warmer than this if it is unreachable. Currently looking for optimal pressure ratio. Also looking for a design that avoids plugging issues. Ask for a CAD model of the vortex tube, which the Vortex Team will provide after the meeting.

Open Forum: 

Jake has some updates to finish the meeting. We will be building this summer, there are a handful of spots for backup work this summer. 316 will start fast on building. We are attempting to create a process for open lab time. See Jake’s tweet – Google validates much of what Dr. Chuck and Jake have been teaching in ME 316 and ME 416. We need to implement a plan for an approval process – buddy system, mentors, with an effective, but not restrictive chain of command. People are more expensive than components. Our #1 rule – nobody gets hurt.

In the tour last week, Chris Ainscough of NREL saw the container and got very excited – we’re starting to show containerized H2 liquefaction is future!

Meeting End Time: 13:20

Join the WSU Web Slack Team (Guest Post)

The following is a post from Jeremy Felt at https://web.wsu.edu/. If you’re interested in contributing to our website, this is a good idea.

By Jeremy Felt on Feb 23, 2016 11:36 am

The Web Communication team has embraced Slack as one of its daily tools. We use Slack to enable communication around the many projects that we work on day to day, as well as to increase incidental communication—sharing tips, suggestions, and interesting things that we find throughout the day.

Not too long ago, we started another Slack team for general use by the WSU web community. Anyone with a wsu.edu email address can join this team and participate in discussion. We hope to use this as another way to foster an open and collaborative culture around the web at WSU.

Signing up is quick. Head to https://wsu-web.slack.com/signup to create an account. Once you’re up and running, post questions and discussion topics in the default #general channel.

We’d like to encourage a default to open mindset. Rather than relying on private messages, ask questions in the open so that everyone can benefit from the answer. Over time, we can gather more frequently asked questions and turn them into more proper documentation on web.wsu.edu.

The post Join the WSU Web Slack Team appeared first on Web Communication.

Meeting Minutes: 2016-02-20

Meeting Start time: 12:05

Called to order by Eli Shoemake.

Our RSO (Registered Student Org) started last semester for building out liquefier.

Fundraising opportunities is the primary advantage of being an RSO.

Introduction to ISE, meeting goals

The 416 teams are working parallel to RC Baja in the past, using the club project for classwork.

We now have a site at hub.wsu.edu/ise – Meeting minutes, archives of info will be posted there. There is also room for details bout the system and people working on it.

We need to start updating site on team by team basis, models, posts, pictures. Please let Eli know who needs access for editing the site with updates.

Calendar is up, events and meetings will be posted to it.

Questions –

Can we join the club officially?

You can join through cougsync, no officers, and we will not be using cougsync, so it’s not critical.

Can we put this on a resume?

Go for it!

Identify expert for each subsystem, point of contact list (on Website):

Get an idea of membership

Representatives are here from each 416 group, nobody from 316 yet.

Assign Team Experts

  1. Vortex Team – Mitchell Scott

2. Heat Exchanger Team – Taylor Bryant

3. Purification – Scott Bredberg

4. TFRB – Brian Karlberg

Team progress updates (~5 min per team)

Purification – narrowed to a system, requires input ad water gas shift, cryoseperating reqs 75%, 350 psi, heat exgr to get rid of heavier molecules, rectifier/condenser toughest part to build, condenses ch4 and co2, piston expander to take temp down to -205 C, nitrogen out bottom, H2 at 5 9s out top and into exchr. Run numbers next. – Use ref prop for phase diagrams, properties. Want to avoid solid state. – question on what to do with the liquids. Doing calcs on plates, number of plates and thickness. Goal is concept sheets by end of week. Get info from Jake on Ability Engineering (Illinois)

Vortex – model on changing global vaiables. Review list with Eli. Manufacture out of Kurt’s shop. Size of vortex – 8 inches. Heat exchanger is after vortex tube.

Heat Exchanger – theortical model. counterflow, parrallel tube. Update with mass flow changes. Wanted outlet temp to be 28K (Jake), at 38 K will drop 6 K, 40K will only drop 2K. Planning design review in about a week. Will have Cad model. Asumption for converstion ratio. Need to determine length.

Chef being prepped for March timeframe vortex tube data. Will need follow up tube 3 weeks to month timeline.

Container update

Showing up Monday 2/22 Noon – 2pm

Discuss space preparations for meeting on Wednesday

High level industry people turing facility TFRB Wed AM. Goal is to have space clean and have DYK printed and posted. Put up science/fun things. Want pipe thread, etc poster. Open call for ideas.

Discuss the RSO website

What do we want to do with it? It’s more or less a skeleton right now – let’s put some flesh on those bones!

Would like a people section with professional photo and professional info / bio. Make posts for updates. Provide info for openlab resources

Wild Horse Wind Facility Tour notice

Jake has got to know people at the wind farm through talks on using hydrogen for load leveling. There is some interest in our liquefier, and they have offered to provide tours, normally April to November. We can get a tour if desired. Guidelines and liability form are in the post on the website.

Open Forum

What is 316 doing? – They have a compressor team, a storage team, leak detection, venting, power team, connections team, insulation, system integration. Some work into a blast off panel may be undertaken in the future if a group has time. Right now the system integration has been talking about Bosch tubing for the framework.

End of Meeting

Meeting Time, Spring Semester

Meeting Time:

Based off the survey results from the last week, the meeting time for ISE general meetings will be on Saturdays at noon. A number of people will not be around for the three day weekend, so our fist official meeting will be on Saturday, February 20. If you’re around this weekend, feel free to meet on your own, though!

Meeting Summary:

Meetings will be held at 12:00 on Saturday, February 20, 2016 through May 7, 2016. Meetings will be held in TFRB 108 and/or TFRB 113.

Download the calendar event for your phone, computer, or online digital calendar on the event page.

As I mentioned last week, meeting topics will most likely be:

  • ISE RSO considerations – most weeks we won’t need to discuss anything, but on occasion we will have to tackle an issue related to our WSU Registered Student Organization (RSO) status.
  • ISE Website – It’s a good opportunity to make or suggest changes to our website – this will be the key to getting more public support (aka. donations of money or equipment) and public/university goodwill/interest.
  • Group Progress – While everybody in each group doesn’t need to show up to each meeting, at least one person from each group should show up. A quick ~5min or less talk on the week’s progress will allow everyone to keep track of what’s happening. This is a good opportunity to ask fellow groups and engineers for help or ideas.

Next (First) Meeting:

Meeting time: Saturday, February 20, 2016 12:00 noon

Meeting location: TFRB 113

Meeting tasks:

  • Team progress updates (~5 min per team)
  • This meeting will be right before the container is scheduled to show up, so one of our first tasks will be to ensure we’re ready for it’s arrival.
  • We will be having an important tour coming through the space later in the week, so ensure the space is clean and ready to be shown off.
  • Discuss the RSO website, and what we want to do with it. It’s more or less a skeleton right now – let’s put some flesh on those bones!
  • Anything else people want to bring up to discuss.

 

Wild Horse Wind Facility tour

Wild Horse Wind and Solar Facility officially opens for tours in April and closes Nov. 15th. The presentation and tour combination takes 1.5 to 2 hours depending on the group. The presentation takes place in a classroom at the Renewable Energy Center and covers PSE’s wind assets, wind and solar technology, components, challenges, economics, and construction. After covering the basics, an outside walking tour visits the smaller 52 kw solar array, generator, transformer, blade, and a look inside of the base of an active wind turbine.

All tour participants must go over the guidelines and sign a liability form, which can be turned in upon arrival. We also have directions to the facility. You can also visit www.pse.com/wildhorse for these documents and more about the Wild Horse Wind Facility.

Please keep this in mind, and we will discuss a trip at a future meeting!

 

Image via Wild Horse Renewable Energy Center on Facebook

ISE General Meeting – Survey

As a group, we’re trying to do some pretty amazing things, and build a very complex system. We have a lot of intermeshing parts and several seperate groups of people working in parallel. While our “attack many challenges at once” approach to the system design allows for rapid progress to be made on many fronts, it presents the challenge of trying to stay up to date on progress and changes between different groups and different parts of the system. In order to facilitate good communication and understanding, I’m scheduling a general ISE meeting where we can get together to solve problems, provide our insight to other groups, and keep updated on overall system progress and performance. I understand we’re all very busy!!! The goal of this meeting is not to waste time, or take longer than we need to. I anticipate the meeting being an hour or less most weeks.

General Meeting Topics:

  • ISE RSO considerations – most weeks we won’t need to discuss anything, but on occasion we will have to tackle an issue related to keeping our status as a WSU Registered Student Organization (RSO).
  • ISE Website – It’s a good opportunity to make or suggest changes to our website – this will be the key to getting more public support (aka. donations of money or equipment) and public/university goodwill/interest.
  • Group Progress – While everybody in each group doesn’t need to show up to each meeting, at least one person from each group should show up. A quick ~5min or less talk on the week’s progress will allow everyone to keep track of what’s happening. This is a good opportunity to ask fellow groups and engineers for help or ideas on challenges/problems your group is facing.

Because several ME 416 groups already seem to be meeting Saturdays, I’ve set up a survey to determine the time most people are available on Saturday. Please let me know with the form below when you’re free or if you’d prefer another day to meet:

Meeting Time

What time are you free to meet (about 1 hr.) about ISE and hydrogen liquefier progress?
  • What project are you working on for ISE?
  • Because it seems to be a common meeting date already, we are planning on having an about 1 hour long meeting on Saturdays. What time would work the best for you to meet each Saturday?
    :
  • What times are you free to meet most Saturdays?
  • If we were to meet on a day other than Saturday, what would the next best day be?
  • Any comments, questions, or concerns about Innovation for Sustainable Energy (ISE), or ISE Meetings.