• Composites Research
• /
• v.21 no.1
• /
• pp.1-7
• /
• 2008

Composite vessels for high pressure gas storage are commonly used these days because of their competitive weight reduction ability maintaining strong mechanical properties. To supplement permeability of composite under high pressure, it is usually lined by metal, which is called a Type 3 vessel. However, it has many difficulties to design the Type 3 vessel because of its complex geometry, fabrication process variables, etc. In this study, therefore, GUI (graphic user interface) optimal design code for Type 3 vessels was developed based on semi-geodesic algorithm in which various factors of geometry and fabrication variables are considered and genetic algorithm for optimization. In addition, hydrogen vessels for 350/700 bar that can be applied to FCVs(fuel cell vehicles) were designed using this code for verification.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
• /
• v.36 no.8
• /
• pp.829-833
• /
• 2012

SNG (synthetic natural gas or substitute natural gas) could contribute greatly toward energy security. In addition, HCNG (or $H_2CNG$) is expected to be used as a fuel gas for internal combustion engines and home appliances because it has extremely low emissions and high thermal efficiency. However, the hydrogen contained in SNG or HCNG can deteriorate the mechanical properties of the materials used in existing natural gas infrastructure. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the effect of hydrogen on the mechanical properties of such materials so that SNG or HCNG can be transported and distributed safely and reliably. In this study, the effect of highly pressurized hydrogen gas on the tensile properties of a low-alloy steel used for manufacturing CNG storage vessels was investigated using the so-called hollow tensile specimen technique.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
• /
• v.37 no.12
• /
• pp.1497-1502
• /
• 2013

When using hydrogen gas as an ecofriendly energy sources, it is necessary to conduct a safety assessment and ensure thereliability of the hydrogen pressure vessel against hydrogen embrittlement expected in the steel materials. In this study, by applying the in-situ SP test method, the gas hydrogen embrittlement behaviors in SA372 steel, which is commonly used as a pressurized hydrogen gas storage container, were evaluated. To investigate the hydrogen embrittlement behavior, SP tests at different punch velocities were conducted for specimens with differently fabricated surfaces at atmospheric pressure and under high-pressure hydrogen gas conditions. As a result, the SA372 steel showed significant hydrogen embrittlement under pressurized hydrogen gas conditions. The effect of punch velocity on the hydrogen embrittlement appeared clearly; the lower punch velocity case indicated significant hydrogen embrittlement resulting in lower SP energy. The fractographic morphologies observed after SP test also revealed the hydrogen embrittlement behavior corresponding to the punch velocity adopted. Under this pressurized gas hydrogen test condition, the influence of specimen surface condition on the extent of hydrogen embrittlement could not be determined clearly.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
• /
• v.48 no.3
• /
• pp.322-326
• /
• 2010

Stability of sodium borohydride solution during storage was studied. In order to enhance the $NaBH_4$ stability, NaOH and KOH were added to the $NaBH_4$ solution. The effect of concentration of the borohydride and alkaline solution, temperature and materials of storage vessels on the rate of borohydride hydrolysis was investigated. The rate of hydrogen evolution decreased as the concentration of alkaline increased due to increase of $NaBH_4$ stability in the solution. The stability of $NaBH_4$ solution decreased when the borohydride concentration raised from 10 to 15 wt% and then increased when the $NaBH_4$ concentration increased above 15 wt% due to increase in the pH of the concentrated solution. The activity coefficient of hydrolysis of $NaBH_4$ solution(NaOH 3.0 wt%, $NaBH_4$ 25 wt%) was 115.1 kJ/mol and this value was 1.5~4.0 times higher than that of hydrolysis of $NaBH_4$ solution with catalyst. The borohydride solutions in glass and stainless-steel vessel were more stable than the solution in plastic(PE) vessel.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
• /
• v.9 no.4
• /
• pp.231-236
• /
• 2011

When the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident occurred in March of 2011, a hydrogen explosion in the reactor building at the 4th unit of Fukushima plants led to a big surprise because the full core of the unit 4 reactor had been moved and stored underwater at the spent nuclear fuel storage pool for periodic maintenance. It was because the possible criticality in the fuel storage pool by coolant loss may yield more severe situation than the similar accident happened inside the reactor vessel. Fortunately, it was assured to be evitable to an anxious situation by a look of water filled in the storage pool later. In the paper, the safety state of the spent fuel storage pool and rack structures of the domestic nuclear plants would be roughly reviewed and compared with the Fukushima plant case by engineering viewpoint of potential severe accidents.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
• /
• v.27 no.6
• /
• pp.152-161
• /
• 2023

In general, large-capacity hydrogen storage vessels, typically in the form of vertical cylindrical vessels, are constructed using steel materials. These vessels are anchored to foundation slabs that are specially designed to suit the environmental conditions. This anchoring method involves pre-installed anchors on top of the concrete foundation slab. However, it's important to note that such a design can result in concentrated stresses at the anchoring points when external forces, such as seismic events, are at play. This may lead to potential structural damage due to anchor and concrete damage. For this reason, in this study, it selected an vertical hydrogen storage vessel based on site observations and created a 3D finite element model. Artificial seismic motions made following the procedures specified in ICC-ES AC 156, as well as domestic recorded earthquakes with a magnitude greater than 5.0, were applied to analyze the structural behavior and performance of the target structures. Conducting experiments on a structure built to actual scale would be ideal, but due to practical constraints, it proved challenging to execute. Therefore, it opted for an analytical approach to assess the safety of the target structure. Regarding the structural response characteristics, the acceleration induced by seismic motion was observed to amplify by approximately ten times compared to the input seismic motions. Additionally, there was a tendency for a decrease in amplification as the response acceleration was transmitted to the point where the centre of gravity is located. For the vulnerable components, specifically the sub-system (support columns and anchorages), the stress levels were found to satisfy the allowable stress criteria. However, the concrete's tensile strength exhibited only about a 5% margin of safety compared to the allowable stress. This indicates the need for mitigation strategies in addressing these concerns. Based on the research findings presented in this paper, it is anticipated that predictable load information for the design of storage vessels required for future shaking table tests will be provided.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
• /
• v.16 no.1
• /
• pp.15-21
• /
• 2012

An analysis was completed of the hazards distance of hydrogen accidents such as jet release, jet fire, and vapor cloud explosion(VCE) of hydrogen gas, and simplified equations have been proposed to predict the hazard distances to set up safety distance by the gas dispersion, fire, and explosion following hydrogen gas release. For a small release rate of hydrogen gas, such as from a pine-hole, the hazard distance from jet dispersion is longer than that from jet fire. The hazard distance is directly proportional to the pressure raised to a half power and to the diameter of hole and up to several tens meters. For a large release rate, such as from full bore rupture of a pipeline or a large hole of storage vessel, the hazard distance from a large jet fire is longer than that from unconfined vapor cloud explosion. The hazard distance from the fire may be up to several hundred meters. Hydrogen filling station in urban area is difficult to compliance with the safety distance criterion, if the accident scenario of large hydrogen gas release is basis for setting up the safety distance, which is minimum separation distance between the station and building. Therefore, the accident of large hydrogen gas release must be prevented by using safety devices and the safety distance may be set based on the small release rate of hydrogen gas. But if there are any possibility of large release, populated building, such as school, hospital etc, should be separated several hundred meters.

• Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering:BBE
• /
• v.6 no.2
• /
• pp.133-138
• /
• 2001

In this study, an attempt was made to increase the survival rate of bifidobacteria entrapped in alginate in the gastrointestinal tract, and to investigate the potential industrial applications, for example lyophilized capsules and yogurt. First, the protective effect of various food additives on bifidobacterial survivability was determined after exposure to simulated gastric juices and bile salts. The additives used in this study were skim milk (SM), polydextrose (PD), soy fiber (SF), yeast extract (YE), chitosan (CS), $\kappa$-carageenan ($\kappa$-C) and whey, which were added at 0.6% concentration (w/v) to 3% alginate-bifidobacterial solution. In the simulated gastric juices and bile salts, the protective effect of 0.6% skim milk-3% alginate (SM-A) beads on the survival rate of bifidobacteria proved to be higher than the other additives. Second, the hydrogen ion permeation was detected through SM-A vessel without bifidobacterial cells at different SM concentrations (0.2%, 0.4%, 0.6%, 0.8%, and 1.0%). There were no differences in terms of the pH decrease in SM-A vessels at 0.6%, 0.8%, and 1.0% (w/v) SM concentrations. The survival rate of bifidobacteria in SM-A beads would appear to be related to the SM buffering capacity against hydrogen ions and its tendency to reduce the pore size of bead. In this experiment, the survival rate of bifidobacteria entrapped in beads containing 0.6% SM showed the highest viability after exposure to simulated gastric juices for 3h, thereby indicating that 0.6% SM is the optimum concentration fir 3% alginate bead preparation. Third, the effect of SM-A beads on the freeze-drying and yogurt storage for 10 days was investigated. SM-A beads were found to be more efficient for freeze drying and yogurt storage than untrapped cells and the alginate bead. Consequently, the survival rate of bifidobacteria entrapped in SM-A beads was increased in simulated gastric juices, bile salts and probiotic products, such as lyophilized capsules and yogurt, SM-A beads can be expected to produce high value probiotic products.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Technology Engineers
• /
• v.22 no.4
• /
• pp.686-692
• /
• 2013

Today, environmental issues have become a matter of worldwide concern. In particular, automobile industries engage in considerable research and investment to develop high-efficiency and ecofriendly cars. Most ecofriendly cars use natural gas or hydrogen gas instead of fossil fuels. In this regard, low-weight and high-pressure vessels have gradually been developed to increase the driving distance of a car. However, most pressure vessels installed in cars develop many defects over time owing to shocks sustained when the car is being driven. Such defects can cause the explosion of the pressure vessel. Therefore it is important to prevent such explosions due to internal defects. The use of shearography for measuring the internal defects of objects afford many advantages. It is a non-contact and non-destructive method, and it is not limited by the object shape. In this study, the internal defect deformation and strain of an aluminum liner that is used in a CNG bus for the fuel storage tank is measured using shearography. It is important to measure the strain and deformation in order to detect defects and repair the pressure vessel. To verify the accuracy of the shearography measurement method, the measurement results of shearography, out-of-plane ESPI, and FEM are compared quantitatively.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 2006.11a
• /
• pp.467-470
• /
• 2006

For a mobile application such as cellular phone, micro fuel cells should be extremely compact and thin. RHFC can be an alternative solution because RHFC gives higher power density than DMFC and does not need ahydrogen storage vessel In this paper, RHFC using methanol fuel is made as a novel planar design without a PROX. Both reformer and cell are made closely in a same plate to share the heater of reformer with the cell. The PBI membrane is used in the cell. The reason is that high temperature of reformer can cause a performance drop when perfluorosulfonic acid membrane such as Nafion is used such a high temperature operation also guarantees the higher CO tolerance to MEA catalyst. The cell is designed as an air-breathing type which the cathode of the cell is opened to the air. The commercial Cu/ZnO/Al2O3 steam reformer catalyst is packed in reformer channel. The active area of MEA is $11.9cm^2$ and the peak power density was $27.5mW/cm^2$.