A PROJECT REPORT ON

NUMERICAL STUDIES ON
METAL HYDRIDE BASED ACTUATORS
Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the
award of the degree of

BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY
in

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

Submitted by
BHARATH RAM: 14402021
BINOY G BABU: 14402022
GOKUL DAS: 14402026
GOKUL G R: 14402027

Guided by
Dr.MOHAN G

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

SREE CHITRA THIRUNAL COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING,
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM 695 018.
MARCH 2018
 SREE CHITRA THIRUNAL COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING,
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM - 695 018.
DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING.

CERTIFICATE
Certified that project work entitled “NUMERICAL STUDIES ON METAL HYDRIDE
BASED ACTUATORS” is a bonafide work carried out in the eighth semester
by“BHARATH RAM(14402021),BINOY G BABU(14402022), GOKUL DAS
(14402026),GOKUL G R(14402027)”in partial fulfilment for the award of Bachelor of
Technology in “MECHANICAL ENGINEERING” from University of Kerala during the
academic year 2017-2018 who carried out the project work under the guidance and no part of
this work has been submitted earlier for the award of any degree.

PROJECT COORDINATOR PROJECT GUIDE

Dr. E.JAYAKUMAR Dr.MOHAN G

Assistant Professor Computational Mechanics Lab
Department of Mechanical Engg. Department of Mechanical Engg
SCT College of Engineering SCT College of Engineering
Thiruvananthapuram-18 Thiruvananthapuram-18

HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT

Dr R AJITH
Professor
Department of Mechanical Engg.
SCT College of Engineering
Thiruvananthapuram-18
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We thank God, The Almighty for providing us strength and motivation

We would like to express our profound gratitude to Dr. MOHAN G, Department of

Mechanical Engineering, being our project guide. He has been very helpful in guiding us and
providing necessary insight, without which, this project would not have been possible.

We owe a deep sense of gratitude and thanks to our project coordinator

Dr.E.JAYAKUMAR, Department of Mechanical Engineering, for his kind cooperation,
encouragement and help.

We take this opportunity to express heartfelt thanks to Dr. R AJITH, Head of the
Department of Mechanical Engineering, for the support provided by him to make this project
a success.

We also extend our sincere thanks to friends and family for their unwavering and dogmatic
support from the very beginning of this.

BHARATH RAM
BINOY G BABU
GOKUL DAS
GOKUL G R

i
 ABSTRACT
In recent years, minimally invasive treatments have been demanded for the improvement of
QOL (quality of life) of patients in the medical field. In order to realize the invasive
treatments, a small-size operation tool and its driving system using a miniature actuator will
be required. Actuator utilizing hydrogen storage alloy (HSA) is a candidate of such an
actuator
This project consists of simulation of a model describing hydrogen sorption kinetics in metal
hydride.The project involves design and investigation of a thermo kinetically driven actuation
system integrating metal hydrides for providing various twisting and Snail-like peristaltic
actuations. Firstly, a mathematical model along with comprehensive simulation strategy of
hydrogen absorption and desorption processes in porous metal hydride compacts was
developed. A three dimensional axisymmetric model was built in COMSOL to simulate the
sorption behavior of a typical metal hydride during hydrogen absorption and desorption
processes.The model was formulated by considering mass conservation of hydrogen-
absorbed metal alloy,heat generation and absorption by exothermic and endothermic reaction
for hydriding and dehydriding reactions.
The actuator tends to deform during absorption and acts itself as an actuator and after
desorption, the actuator returns to its initial position, hence indicating shape memory
characteristics. The performance of the metal hydride actuators depends on hydrogen supply
pressure, coolant temperature, overall heat transfer coefficient, and the present study deals
with the motion study of actuator and effect of operating parameters. The numerical
simulations are carried out using COMSOL Multiphysics® software. Results on performance
of the metal hydride based actuators are presented.

ii
 CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT i
ABSTRACT ii
LIST OF FIGURES v
LIST OF SYMBOLS vii
LIST OF TABLES viii
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 General Background 1
1.2 Hydrogen Economy 1
1.3 Hydrogen Storage 2
1.4 Metal Hydrides 4
1.5 Classification of Metal Hydrides 4
1.6 Hydrogen Sorption in Metal Hydrides 5
1.7 Thermodynamics of Metal Hydrides 6
1.8 Engineering issues in Metal Hydrides 8
1.9 Metal Hydride Actuators 10
CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE SURVEY 12
2.1 Conclusions based on Literature Survey 16
CHAPTER 3 NUMERICAL STUDY OF METAL HYDRIDE 17
ACTUATORS
3.1 Physical Models 17
3.2 Problem Formulation 21
3.3 Simulation Methodology 23
3.3.1 Geometric modelling 24
3.3.2 Multiphysics simulation of hydrogen sorption and actuation 24
3.3.3 Meshing 25
3.3.4 Problem solution and post processing 25
CHAPTER 4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS 26
4.1 Initial Results 27
4.2 Variation of Displacement along the actuator 39
4.3 Variation of Stress and Strain 40
4.4 Variation of Temperature 42

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 4.5 Effect of Operating parameters 43
4.4.1 Effect of cooling fluid temperature 44
4.4.2 Effect of supply pressure 47
4.4.3 Effect of heat transfer coefficient 49
CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSIONS 52
REFERENCES 53

iv
 LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1.1 Hydrogen fuel cells 1
Figure 1.2 Working of hydrogen powered car 1
Figure 1.3 Hydrogen powered bus 1
Figure 1.4 Hydrogen stored as liquid state 3
Figure 1.5 Hydrogen stored as metal hydride pellets 4
Figure 1.6 Schematic showing metal hydride reversible reaction 6
Figure 1.7 Absorption mechanism of metal hydrides 7
Figure 1.8 Variation of hydrogen concentration with respect to supply pressure 7
in metal hydrides
Figure 1.9 Hysteresis developed in metal hydride sorption 8
Figure 1.10 Fine particles confinement in metal hydride containers 9
Figure 1.11 Expansion and contraction of metal hydride container wall 9
Figure 1.12 Metal hydride actuation for soft rehabilitation purposes 10
Figure 1.13 Bending metal hydride actuators 10
Figure 3.1 Geometric model of bending actuator 17
Figure 3.2 Geometric model of twisting actuator 18
Figure 3.3 Geometric model of rotating actuator 18
Figure 3.4 Geometric model of snail actuator 19
Figure 3.5 Physical model of snail actuator 19
Figure 3.6 Sectional view of snail actuator 20
Figure 3.7 Geometric model of snail actuator in COMSOL 24
Figure 3.8 Meshed model of snail actuator 25
Figure 4.1 Variation of temperature with time 28
Figure 4.2 Variation of displacement with time 28
Figure 4.3 Spatial variation of concentration with time in bending 29
Figure 4.4 Spatial variation of temperature with time in bending 30
Figure 4.5 Spatial variation of concentration with time in twisting 31
Figure 4.6 Spatial variation of temperature with time in twisting 32
Figure 4.7 Spatial variation of concentration with time in rotating 33
Figure 4.8 Spatial variation of temperature with time in rotating 34
Figure 4.9 Spatial variation of concentration with time on hydriding 35
Figure 4.10 Spatial variation of temperature with time on hydriding 36

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Figure 4.11 Spatial variation of concentration with time on dehydriding 37
Figure 4.12 Spatial variation of temperature with time on dehydriding 38
Figure 4.13 Variation of displacement with length during hydriding 39
Figure 4.14 Variation of displacement along width 40
Figure 4.15 Variation of stress with time 41
Figure 4.16 Variation of strain with time 41
Figure 4.17 Variation of temperature with time during hydriding 43
Figure 4.18 Variation of temperature with time during dehydriding 43
Figure 4.19 Effect of cooling fluid temperature on concentration during 45
hydriding
Figure 4.20 Effect of cooling fluid temperature on concentration during 45
dehydriding
Figure 4.21 Effect of cooling fluid temperature on displacement during 46
hydriding
Figure 4.22 Effect of cooling fluid temperature on displacement during 46
dehydriding
Figure 4.23 Effect of cooling supply pressure on concentration during hydriding 47
Figure 4.24 Effect of cooling supply pressure on concentration during 48
dehydriding
Figure 4.25 Effect of cooling supply pressure on displacement during hydriding 48
Figure 4.26 Effect of cooling supply pressure on displacement during 49
dehydriding
Figure 4.27 Effect of heat transfer coefficient on concentration during 50
hydriding
Figure 4.28 Effect of heat transfer coefficient on concentration during 50
dehydriding
Figure 4.29 Effect of heat transfer coefficient on displacement during hydriding 51
Figure 4.30 Effect of cooling heat transfer coefficient on concentartion during 51
hydriding

vi
 LIST OF SYMBOLS

Enthalpy change
Entropy change
q Uncompensated heat
R Universal Gas Constant
P Pressure
Peq Equilibrium Pressure
T Temperature
Tb Bed Temperature
Tf Coolant Temperature
A,B Van‟t Hoff Constants
h Heat Transfer Coefficient
H/M Mass of hydrogen absorbed per unit mass of metal
r Radial coordinate

vii
 LIST OF TABLES

tTTT Table 3.1 Modules and sub modules applied to different 24

domains
Table 4.1 Physical properties of LaNi5 & SBR 26
Table 4.2 Parameter values used in the study 27

viii
 Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1. General Background
One of the important issues faced by the earth communities is the depletion of the natural fuel
sources. The natural fuel sources include fossil fuels. Their byproducts cause several
environmental issues such as air pollution and carcinogenic effects on the human body. In
these circumstances the replacement of fossil fuels is very important. The renewable energy
sources such as wind energy, solar energy can replace these alternate fuel sources by some
extend but they have their own limitations that are these energy sources cannot be utilized all
the time. In these circumstances the replacement of alternate energy sources by hydrogen is
very important, because hydrogen does not possess any environmental issues and they are
abundant in the earth atmosphere.

1.2. Hydrogen Economy

Hydrogen can be replaced as an alternative fuel because of many reasons. One of the
important feature of hydrogen is they have high energy content. The energy content or the
calorific value of hydrogen is 141760 KJ/kg. The higher value compared to any other fuel
sources. Hydrogen has another important specialty is it can burn cleanly, that is hydrogen gas
does not possess ant threat to the environment. It consists of very less byproducts and
burning. While consider the environmental aspects hydrogen is safe gas to be used as fuel.
Hydrogen energy can be utilized not only at a direct power source, it can be used in the form
of batteries. In many applications hydrogen fuel cells are used as an energy source. In
automobile applications hydrogen can be used as a direct power source. Rather than a fuel
source hydrogen can be utilized as a working fluid as well. The hydrogen powered actuators
can be utilized in several applications such as robotics, rehabilitation purposes etc. In this the
pressure difference created by the hydrogen gas can be converted into mechanical energy for
actuation purposes. Hydrogen can also be used as a sensor in case of leakage detections.

1
 Fig 1.1:Hydrogen fuel cells Fig 1.2: Hydrogen powered car

Fig 1.3: Hydrogen powered bus

The important limitation of hydrogen as a fuel source is its storage. Since hydrogen is a
highly combustible gas the storage of hydrogen gas requires special attention. Hydrogen is
odourless and colourless gas that makes the leakage identification of hydrogen is very
difficult. Hydrogen leakage identification is possible by using hydrogen gas detection
sensors. The hydrogen gas has high chance to ignite when it reaches more than 15% of the
leakage environment. But these sensors identify the presence of hydrogen before reaching
4%. Not only safely hydrogen has to be stored effectively that means more amount of
hydrogen has to be stored in a very less space.

1.3. Hydrogen Storage

The important goal in hydrogen storage is to pack hydrogen as close as possible that is to reach
highest volumetric density with little additional material as possible. It is always effective while
storing hydrogen in a very large quantity with minimum space. To increase hydrogen density it is
important to either increase the density of hydrogen or to decrease the critical temperature of
hydrogen. Another important criteria of hydrogen storage is to release and intake hydrogen in an

2
effective manner. Hydrogen can be stored in four methods. The following are the important
methods of hydrogen storage

1.3.1. Hydrogen Storage as Gas

Hydrogen can be stored in the form of gas in high pressure cylinders. While increasing the
pressure of hydrogen the density of hydrogen gas also increases. The most common system of
hydrogen storage is in the form of high pressure cylinders and the pressure is increased to 20 MPa
in order to maintain the gaseous state. Even though the safety of hydrogen gaseous cylinders is
always raise the concern. Generally hydrogen storage containers consist of two layers, inner
polymer layer and outer aramid fiber layer.

1.3.2. Hydrogen Storage as Liquid

Fig 1.4: Hydrogen stored as liquid state

High pressure liquid hydrogen can be stored in the form of cryogenic liquid at an ambient
temperature of 21.2K. Because of the low critical temperature of hydrogen (33K) it can only
be stored in open systems and there is no liquid phase exists above critical temperature. The
storage of liquid hydrogen at room temperature is around 10000 bars. Liquid hydrogen is
stored in the environments where the cost of hydrogen is not an issue and the usage is last for
a short period of time, especially in space applications.

1.3.3. Physisorption of Hydrogen

Hydrogen can be stored in silicon carbide in the form of physisorption. Carbon nanotubes
have the ability to store hydrogen at a temperature of 77K and the intake pressure of 1 to 2
MPa. The hydrogen sorption characteristics of nanotubes depend on several parameters such
as temperature, dimension and purity of the nanotubes. However these methods have a very
low efficiency that the amount of hydrogen stored is very limited.

3
1.3.4. Hydrogen storage in metal hydrides

Fig 1.5: Hydrogen storage in metal hydride pellets

This is the most effective form of hydrogen storage. In this hydrogen can be stored in metal
hydrides. In this large volume hydrogen can be stored. The stored hydrogen can be released
and absorbed by cooling and heating respectively. The details of metal hydrides are explained
in the following sections.

1.4 Metal Hydrides

Metal Hydrides are chemical compounds containing a transition metal bonded to hydrogen.
They have the ability to store and discharge hydrogen by the application of temperature.
Metal hydrides have a wide range of applications in many areas such as hydrogen storage,
actuation purposes, sensing applications. During storing/releasing hydrogen they undergoes
deformation and this deformation can be converted into various motion This work
concentrates on the simulation of various motion that can be achieved by metal hydrides.

1.5 Classification of Metal Hydrides

Metal hydrides are classified into various categories based on their composition. Generally
metal hydrides are classified into four categories. They are,
1.5.1. Binary Metal Hydrides
The binary metal hydrides are the combination of one element with hydrogen. Many
transition metals form compounds with hydrogen called binary hydrides because they only
contain two elements. These are insoluble in all solvents. Generally these hydrides are
represented as MH2. In this M is any element such as Ti, Zr, Hf, V, and Zn.

4
1.5.2. Ternary Metal Hydrides
Ternary metal hydrides consist of three components. They are generally known as AxMHn.
In this M is the metal and A is an alkali or alkaline earth metal, example K2ReH9.
Eg: LaNi5

1.5.3. Coordination Complexes

In this type of metal hydride, the transitions metals are metal complexes contain a mix of
other metals in addition to hydride. Most of the metals except silver, gold, cadmium and
mercury form the unstable complexes.
e.g.: HCo (CO)4, HRh(CO)2(PPh3)3
1.5.4. Cluster Hydrides
The cluster metal hydrides are terminal hydride legends consists of multiple elements and
they are terminal hydride legends, it can also bridge pairs of metals. Addition of components
in metal hydrides increases the efficiency of metal hydrides to some extent.

1.6 Hydrogen Sorption in Metal Hydrides

The absorption of hydrogen by metal hydride is an exothermic reaction and the release of the
hydrogen is an endothermic reaction. In this the heat removal is based on the refueling time.
Metal hydride tends to expand up to 20% of their volume based on the stress applied on the
hydrides. The following equation represents the reversible reaction of metal hydride
actuators.
M + (x/2)H2 ↔ MHx + Q
Where M is the transition metal and Q is the energy released.
A large group of metal alloys can react with hydrogen reversible to form metal hydrides. But
only a few of them is suitable for hydrogen storage. The alloy must react and release
hydrogen readily at moderate pressure and temperature and must be stable to maintain its
reactivity and capacity over thousands of cycles. Low levels of other elements are often
added to improve the overall performance of metal hydride actuators. In case of metal
hydride heat exchangers they are almost similar to that of heat exchangers. They must have
thermal jackets or conduits for heat transfer medium to cool and heat the material. This is one
of the important issues faced by metal hydrides; the proper heat transfer rate affects the
performance of the hydride applied devices

5
During the discharge of hydrogen the metal hydride is heated. The heat desorbs the hydrogen
and generates a pressure to feed fuel cell. During refueling the bed is connected to a supply of
hydrogen gas and is cooled by the same external coolant. High pressure and quick cooling are
needed for fast absorption and quick refueling.
From the point when hydrogen is converted to work energy consumed in storage, transport
and other must be at a minimum to maximize the energy carried to do work. Storage is the
most important step in this process. Metal hydrides are one of the effective form of hydrogen
storage since hydrogen density in a loaded hydride is almost similar to that of cryogenic
hydrogen storage.
Using metal hydride to store hydrogen requires absorption and desorption step. A typical
absorption step requires a supply of 20atm hydrogen and the removal of about 7 kcal/mol
(14.6 MJ/kg) heat of absorption in exothermic reaction. The heat of absorption is removed by
coolant temperature of about 10ºC . Amount of heat required to desorb hydrogen can be
provided by the waste heat of energy conversion device. The total energy required to operate
a metal hydride storage system is about 15MJ/kg. (This example are only limited to an LHV).

1.7 Thermodynamics of Metal Hydrides

Fig 1.6: Metal hydride reversible reaction

As mentioned earlier the reactions in metal hydride is based on the endothermic and
exothermic reactions by the application of temperature. The molecular is physisorbed into the
surface of the metal hydride is based on weak Vander Waal force. The energy required to this
process is around 10 KJ/mol. The next step is dissociated chemisorption, here the hydrogen
molecules is split into two atoms. The dissociation energy required in this state is 50 KJ/mol.
In this hydrogen atom occupy the interstitial spaces of the metal lattice and this leads to the
expansion of the metal hydrides and this form is called α solid form.

6
 Fig 1.7: Absorption mechanism of metal hydrides

After the formation of α stage, when the pressure of the metal hydride is gradually increases
the hydrogen atoms are chemically bond to the surface of metal hydrides. The phase at this
stage is called β stage. This stage will grow until the metal hydride reaches its saturation
limit. The pressure composition graph this particular region is called plateau region and the
pressure corresponding to this region is called plateau pressure. After saturation limit further
amount of hydrogen cannot be stored and hydrogen pressure increases rapidly. The region
further this consists of only β stage. The curve that represents the absorption of hydrogen is
called PCT curve. The equilibrium pressure at this stage is given by Van Hoff relation.

Fig 1.8: Variation of hydrogen concentration with respect to supply pressure in metal
hydrides

7
 Fig 1.9: Hysteresis developed in metal hydride absorption and desorption

The impurities, stresses, hydride bed thickness, coolant temperature etc. will affect the
sorption characteristics of metal hydrides. Another deviation that found in the metal hydride
actuators is due to the hysteresis in the absorption/desorption process. The lattice expansion
and the associate stress in the metal hydrides are responsible for these associated stresses are
responsible for this deviation. During the designing process of metal hydrides these
parameters has to be considered.

1.8 Engineering Issues in Metal Hydrides

Metal hydrides face some engineering issues that affect the overall performance of metal
hydride application systems. The following are the important engineering issues
1.8.1. Fine confinements in metal hydride containers
Metal hydrides break up into fine powders with the sizes of micron range. The fine particles
if not confined can migrate and interfere with the operation of moving parts such as valves.
Filters with proper pore size and area must be used to prevent the migration of fin4es but this
creates resistance to gas flow. The fine confinement cause for about 30% of lattice reduction
in metal hydrides. This will also affect the porosity of metal hydrides and they directly results
in density, permeability, Young‟s modulus, thermal conductivity. Figure 1.10 represents fines
of 50microns size.

8
 Fig 1.10: Fine particles confinements in metal hydrides containers

1.8.2. Expansion and contraction of metal hydride container walls

Fig 1.11: Expansion and contraction of metal hydrides container walls

Metal hydrides expands while absorbing and contracts while receiving. This is highly
restricted due to the lack of stress in the containers and the resultant stress developed
damages the container due to the resultant strain. This leads to the plastic deformation of
containers. This also leads to the fatigue failure of metal hydride containers. Generally silicon
rubber structures are provided to accommodate these issues.

1.8.3 Hydrogen density

The density of hydrogen to be stored must be increased. In this the density is considered as
both in weight and volume. Different hydride has different sorption capacities. The light
solids such as magnesium hydride and aluminum hydride having low hydrogen carrying

9
capacity compared to that of lanthanum nickel. During design the selection of metal hydrides
based on the density is very important.

1.9 Metal Hydride Actuators

Fig 1.12: Metal hydride actuator for soft rehabilitation purposes

Metal hydride actuators can be used in two different ways. The pressure difference in the
work output of metal hydride actuators can be converted into useful work by the application
of pressure, it is the first form. Another one is due to the thermal expansion coefficient the
metal hydride tends to deform during absorption and this deformation can be converted into
actuation.

Fig 1.13: Bending metal hydride actuators

The first type metal hydride actuator is shown in figure1.12. In this the pressure difference
caused the absorption and desorption of metal hydrides are used as mechanical work. The

10
hydrogen gas pressure that is released by the metal hydrides is used to lift the ram in the
actuator. Basically this actuator works similar to that of a pneumatic actuator. This actuator is
able to produce a stroke length up to 60mm with a temperature range of 10 – 20ºC.

The second type metal hydride actuator is shown in the figure 1.13. In this the metal hydride
is attached along with a silicon rubber layer and due to the difference in the thermal
expansion the actuator tends to deform. Generally these types of actuators are used for very
low application.

11
 Chapter 2
LITERATURE SURVEY
In recent years, minimally invasive treatments have been demanded for the improvement of
QOL (quality of life) of patients in the medical field. In order to realize the invasive
treatments, a small-size operation tool and its driving system using a miniature actuator will
be required. Actuator utilizing hydrogen storage alloy (HSA) is a candidate of such an
actuator. HSAs exhibit a great volume expansion of 10–30% on hydrogenation, which is
several 10 times greater than thermal expansion,and are expected to be applied to a power
actuator due to a large driving force caused by phase transformation, i.e., metal to metal
hydride and vice versa.

The present chapter covers some of the significant contributions in the area of
hydride based hydrogen actuation and Hydrogen sorption and desorption kinetics

A Kagawa et al.conducted an experimental study on bending actuator involving

HSA and the found that

 Palladium sputtering on the back surface of the HSA significantly improves

bending characteristics due to the catalytic action of palladium
 The maximum bending velocity is obtained in the HSA with 10 lm thick Cu-
plating
 The bending actuators having the same aspect ratio (length to width) and different
dimensions show the same bending velocity and the critical aspect ratio of the
actuator free from the constraint by deformation in width direction is around five

Masayuki Mizumoto et al. conducted an experimental study of bending behaviour

of Cu plated Pd-Ni alloys and they found that

 By reducing the thickness of the alloy, bending speed increased largely and a large
bending displacement can be obtained in a short time
 It is necessary to modify the structure of bending module from single layered to
multi-layered one for reinforcement of the module strength on application to a
powerful actuator

12
Akihiro Nakai et al. conducted an experimental study on Bending and Rotation
Movement Control of a Novel Actuator Utilizing Hydrogen Storage Alloys and they
found that

 It is found that Pd-Ni alloy actuators exhibit a cyclic bending motion on hydrogen
absorption and desorption cycles and the bending behavior can be controlled by
controlling the hydrogen pressure
 When a ribbon shaped actuator was deformed into the “L” shape on the transverse
section, a rotation motion was observed without modifying the basic bimorph
structure of the actuator

Kwang J Kim and Hossain Bhuiya conducted and experimental study of hydrogen
powered metal hydride piston actuator and they found that

 The efficiency of this system ranges from 9.8% to 13.4%, which is very
reasonable from practical point of view
 The stress versus strain behavior of the system is very comparable to biological
muscles, which makes the system a potential candidate for application in soft
robotics

Marc K.Dietrich et al. conducted an experimental study of Hydrogen sorption and

desorption kinetics and hydrogenation stability of Mg-metal-hydride thin films and found
that

 Regarding the sensitivity to small amounts of hydrogen gas (0.1 vol.% in air) and
low hydrogen pressure, respectively, Mg–Fe performs best which makes it
interesting for hydrogen sensor applications
 The hydrogen de-/sorption kinetics are quick since the entire hydrogenation with 4
vol.%H2 passed off in about 2 s and the entire dehydrogenation takes less than 1 min

13
Lekshmi Dinachandran and Mohan G has conducted a Numerical simulation of the
parametric influence on the strain distribution of vertically placed metal hydride based
hydrogen storage container and found that

 For faster charging of hydride bed higher supply pressures,low coolant temperatures
and low bed thickness are advantageous.
 For a given charging rate, higher supply pressures and low coolant temperatures are
associated with higher wall strain rates
 The optimum values of supply pressure and coolant temperature can be estimated
only by considering a tradeoff between mechanical performance, total system weight
and charging time requirement
Balogun et al. conducted a study on effect of Al content on structure and electrochemical
properties of LaNi4.4xCo0.3Mn0.3Alx hydrogen storage alloys.

• These studies have been conducted to improve the thermodynamic, structural and
kinetic properties of LaNi5 hydrides by the partial substitution of one or more metals
for nickel.
• Ni is typically replaced with Al, Cu, Cr, Sn, Fe, Mn, Co, Ga, Zn, etc. Among these
elements Al, Co and Mn are commonly substituted for Ni, as they lead to a wide
range of thermodynamic properties.
• The partial substitution of Al for Ni in LaNi5 improves cycling performance and
significantly reduces the plateau pressure. The plateau pressure decreases as the unit
cell volume increases with an increase in Al content

Lartigue C et al. had conducted a study on the thermodynamic and structural properties of
LaNi5-xMnx compound and their related hydrides.
• The study showed that the partial substitution of MN for Ni reduces the plateau
pressure without affecting the hydrogen storage capacity

Liu J et al. did a Comparative study of LaNi4.7M0.3 (M = Ni, Co, Mn, Al) by powder
microelectrode technique.
• The study proved that the unit cell volume increases with the partial substitution of M
(M = Al, Mn and Co) in LaNi4.7M0.3 in the order of Co < Mn < Al, which is due to the

14
 increase in the atomic radii of the elements in thesame order: 1.25 Å (Co) < 1.37 Å
(Mn) < 1.43 Å (Al).

Diaz H et al. conducted an experiment on Thermodynamic and structural properties of LaNi5-

yAly compounds and their related hydrides
• This study reported that the substitution of Al in LaNi5 increases hydride stability

Bowman Jr et al conducted an experiment on the Role of aluminium substitution on

hydrogen diffusion in β-LaNi5-yAlyHx.
• The hydrogen diffusion behaviour of LaNi5-xAlx(x =0-1.5) hydride was studied using
nuclear magnetic resonance, and the results showed that the activation energy
increases with increasing aluminium content, with an analogous reduction in the
apparent diffusion constant

Y. Wakisaka et al. carried out a study on "Application of hydrogen absorbing alloys to

medical and rehabilitation equipment,” and they found that

• MH alloys can store a large amount of hydrogen

• MH actuator can generate a large force, even if the size is small

WJ. Schrenk et al. carried out a study on "Some physical properties of multilayered films,
Polymer” in which they found that

 A polymer–metal laminate film is a strong gas barrier to oxygen , water vapour and
other substances in the packaging industry

S.W. O’Driscoll et al. carried out a study on "Continuous passive motion (CPM): theory and
principles of clinical application” in which they found that

 Undesired vibration and overshoot motion did not occur, and the motion pattern
occurred at a slow and safe enough speed for rehabilitation equipment such as a
continuous passive motion (CPM) machine

15
E.J. Perreault et al. conducted a study on "Effects of voluntary force generation on the
elastic components of endpoint stiffness, " in which they found that

 The range of the variable stiffness of the soft MH actuator was similar to that of
human elbow joints

N. Tsagarakis et al. carried out ”Development and control of a „soft-actuated‟ exoskeleton

for use in physiotherapy and training, Autonomous Robots” in which they found that

 The actuators for rehabilitation systems and assistive technology devices are needed
for compact design, human-like soft actuation, slows peed, lack of noise, and
environmental safety

2.1 Conclusions based on Literature Survey

Significant heat transfer occurs in metal hydride hydrogen storage containers during charge-
discharge cycles. Since the amount of hydrogen absorbed in HSA varies with surrounding
hydrogen pressure, the bending behavior of the actuator can be controlled by adjusting the
hydrogen pressure.Also bed thickness and coolant temperature has a significant role in the
actuation produced

16
 Chapter 3

NUMERICAL STUDY OF METAL HYDRIDE ACTUATORS

The simulation of metal hydride actuators are carried out in order to find the deformation of
bending type metal hydride actuators. In this the hydrides are tends to deform when
hydrogen is absorbed into it when the temperature is applied and the deformation is under the
influence of thermal expansion coefficient. In this along with the metal hydride actuators a
silicon rubber (Styrene Butadiene Rubber) is attached to simulate the bending deformation of
hydrides. The effect of several parameters such as bed thickness, fluid temperature and heat
transfer coefficient are studied. Initially in this work preliminary simulation of metal
hydrides are carried out in order to find how the concentration, average bed temperature and
displacement of metal hydride actuator varies with time. Here metal hydride LaNi5
(Lanthanum Nickel) is used for the simulation. Simulation is carried out using COMSOL
Multiphysics software.

3.1 Physical Models

Initial Studies conducted

(a)Bending actuator
Fig 3.1 shows the physical model of a bending actuator. The actuator is designed in such a
way that by the application of temperature, the actuator tends to deform and bends into
upward direction and at ambient conditions the actuator returns back to its original position.
The structure of the actuator is similar to that of a cantilever beam that is left end of the
actuator is fixed and all the other ends are free and is exposed to the surrounding
environments.

Fig 3.1:Geometric model of Bending Metal Hydride

actuator
Rubber

17
The model is modelled with an overall thickness of 2mm, that is 1mm hydride layer
thickness and 1mm silicon rubber layer thickness, only two dimensional models is modelled
in the software drawing platform and a length of 40mm. An unstructured mesh consists of
39068 triangular elements are obtained with a degree of freedom of 276880.

(b)Twisting actuator
Fig 3.2 shows the physical model of a twisting actuator. The model is modelled with an
overall thickness of 5mm, that is 2.5mm hydride layer thickness and 2.5mm silicon rubber
layer thickness, and a length of 50mm. An unstructured mesh consists of 168835 triangular
elements are obtained with a degree of freedom of 1100499.

Metal Hydride

Rubber

Fig 3.2:Geometric model of Twisting actuator

(c)Rotating actuator
Fig 3.3 shows the physical model of a rotating actuator. The model is modelled with an
overall thickness of 2mm, that is 1mm hydride layer thickness and 1mm silicon rubber layer
thickness, and a length of 40mm. An unstructured mesh consists of 996523 triangular
elements are obtained with a degree of freedom of 6514991.

Metal Hydride

Rubber

Fig 3.3:Geometric model of Rotating actuator

18
Study of “Snail” Actuator

The figure 3.4 represents the physical model of a metal hydride actuator (LaNi5) along with a
SBR layer. The isometric view of the actuator is shown. Metal hydride and rubber are
arranged in layers alternately above and below the centre. The actuator is designed in such a
way that by the application of temperature, the actuator tends to deform in a “snail-like”
manner and at ambient conditions the actuator returns back to its original position. All the
ends are free and is exposed to the surrounding environments.
The model is modelled with an overall thickness of 2mm, that is 1mm hydride layer thickness
and 1mm SBR layer thickness, with a length of 30mm.The entire arrangement is extruded to
a length of 60mm.

Fig 3.4:Geometric model of Snail actuator

Metal Hydride

Rubber

In order to study the real world behavior of the snail actuator a hypothetical experimental
setup and physical model is created.

Fig 3.5:Physical model of Snail actuator

19
Fig 3.5 shows the experimental setup for the snail actuator. It consists of container having a
low pressure and high pressure side separated by valves. The metal hydride actuator is seated
at the center of the container.
Initially, through the left side high pressure H2 is pumped into the container creating a high
pressure left side. Only the inlet valve is open in this case. Therefore, high pressure H2 is
absorbed by the hydride. For desorption, by adjusting the right side valves a negative pressure
is created in the container such that hydrogen starts desorbing from the metal hydride.This
cycle repeats.
The whole apparatus is immersed in the cooling fluid. In our case the heat transfer coefficient
is taken as 500W/m2K.

Fig 3.6:Sectional view of Snail actuator

Fig 3.6 shows the sectional view of the snail actuator. The actuator consists of pairs of metal
hydride beds and SBR layers arranged alternately(each having thickness 1mm and length
30mm), one on top and the other at bottom, adjacent to one another.The whole actuator is
encapsulated in copper to provide rigidity and to fix the actuator inside the experimental
setup.The thickness of the copper encapsulation is given as 1mm.Copper is chosen as the
encapsulation material because of its high thermal conductivity.

20
3.2 Problem Formulation
The mathematical model of metal hydride actuator is modeled. The governing equations,
initial conditions and boundary conditions are applied to the model. The model is meshed
and solved for results are the results are interpreted.

Assumptions

The following are the important assumptions made in the simulation of bending metal
hydride actuators,
 The actuator is the combined structure of lanthanum nickel metal hydride and silicon
rubber layer.

 Both metal hydride and silicon layer is isotropic in their structure.

 In molar concentration simulation the silicon rubber is assumed to be non-porous and

there is no inter diffusion of hydrogen gas on silicon rubber layer.
 The heat transfer is takes place through the effect of conduction and convection; the
effects of radiation are neglected.
 The surrounding medium of the metal hydride actuator is considered as air and heat
transfer takes place through convection.

 The heat transfer takes place within the bed by conduction only, the convection is
takes place in the outside layer.

 There is no pressure drop along the metal hydride bed.

 The deformation takes place as differential thermal expansion coefficient between the
metal hydride and silicon rubber layer.

 Hydrogen is behaving as an ideal gas.

 The hysteresis effect is negligible in the metal hydride.

 The effect of layers is assumed to be non-porous.

Mass balance
In the simulation of metal hydride actuators the mass balance equation, energy balance
equation and sorption kinetics of metal hydride actuators are taken into consideration

( ) ( )( ) ( ) ( ( ) ))

21
The above equation is the mass conservation equation used in this study. In this the second
and third term of the right hand side of the equation represent the diffusive transport due to
the concentration gradients exists within the bed. Convection term is neglected as the bed
remains stationary.

Energy balance

( ) ( ) ( )

The above equation represents energy balance equation of metal hydride actuators. The heat
that is developed due to the exothermic reactions of the actuator is removed by convection
process and is governed by this equation.
In metal hydrides the absorption and desorption from the metal hydride actuators are
controlled by the sorption kinetics governing equations. In the present study only the
absorption equation is considered for simulation, the reason for this we are only concentrating
the absorption of metal hydride actuators.

Sorption kinetics
Mass of hydrogen absorbed

= exp (- /𝑅𝑇)ln( )( )

Mass of hydrogen desorbed

= exp (- /𝑅𝑇)( )( − )

and are material dependent constants for absorption and desorption respectively. and
are the corresponding activation energies of absorption and desorption of the material.
is the density of hydride at saturation. denotes density of alloy material without
hydrogen sorption. The change in volume, if any, due to hydrogen sorption is not considered
in the computation of density

Equilibrium pressure
The equilibrium pressure equations of the metal hydride actuators are Van Hoff‟s equations
and they are given as,
𝑇

22
 ( ( ))
𝑇
In the above equations A and B are Van Hoff‟s coefficients. This is equation that governs the
plateau pressure in sorption kinetics.

Stress-strain field equations

As the hydride volume increases linearly with hydrogen concentration, an effective expansion
coefficient which accounts for both thermal expansion and volume expansion of alloy
particles during hydriding is formulated as given below.

( [ ]) )

whereαtis the coefficient of thermal expansion of LaNi5, T is the temperature difference and
ρ is the hydrogen concentration in the hydride bed.
Initial conditions
At reaction time t = 0 sec, the hydride bed temperature and concentration is assumed to be
uniform
Tb=T0 , c = c0 mol/m3
Boundary conditions
The coolant around the actuator removes the sorption heat at the walls. Therefore,convective
heat flux conditions exist at this boundary.

(𝑇 𝑇 ) , t>0

3.3 Simulation Methodology

The metal hydride actuator is simulated on COMSOL Multiphysics software. First of the
geometric model is created on the software and the initial and boundary conditions are
applied. The part is meshed and solved. They following are the steps used to solve the
problem.

 Preparation of geometric data

 Modelling physics
 Post processing

23
3.3.1 Geometric modelling
The geometric model of the actuator is created in COMSOL Multiphysics software.First 2D
models of all the 12 elements are drawn.Six of which are hydride and the other six
rubber.Then the whole geometry is made into a composite object.This composite object is
extruded to a length of 60mm.

Fig 3.7:Geometric Model of Snail actuator in COMSOL

3.3.2 Multiphysics simulation of hydrogen sorption and actuation

The description of the laws of physics for space and time dependent problems are usually
expressed in terms of partial differential equations (PDEs). For the vast majority of
geometries and problems, these PDEs cannot be solved with analytical methods. Instead, an
approximation of the equations can be constructed, typically based upon different types of
discretization. These discretization methods approximate the PDEs with numerical model
equations, which can be solved using numerical methods. The solution to the numerical
model equations are, in turn, an approximation of the real solution to the PDEs. The finite
element method (FEM) is used to compute such approximations. The simulation is conducted
using COMSOL Multiphysics 3.5a commercial software. The modules and the corresponding
sub modules used in various materials is listed below.

Table 3.1: Modules and sub modules applied to different domains in hydride bed

Sl No. Material Modules Sub-Modules

1 LaNi5 Heat Transfer Conduction

Chemical Engineering Convection and diffusion

Structural Mechanics Solid stress-strain

2 SBR Heat Transfer Conduction

Structural Mechanics Solid stress-strain

24
3.3.3 Meshing
The accuracy that can be obtained from any FEA model is directly related to the finite
element mesh that is used. The finite element mesh is used to subdivide the CAD model into
smaller domains called elements, over which a set of equations are solved. Unstructured
mesh consisting of triangular elements of suitable element size and quality is generated .The
relative tolerance is kept equal to 1e-6 as the criterion for convergence. Grid independent test
is carried out to ensure the suitability of a given mesh. An unstructured mesh consists of
3009163 triangular elements are obtained with a degree of freedom of 276880. The mesh size
is given as fine in order to get accurate results.

Fig 3.8:Meshed model of snail actuator

3.3.4 Problem solution and post processing

Time dependent direct and iterative solvers with appropriate solver settings are used based on
the degree of complexity of the problem. Direct solvers save computation time. Linear
solvers are adequate for simulating the hydrogen sorption which involves coupled mass and
energy conservation equations. Thus the built-in solver UMFPACK in COMSOL
Multiphysics® was chosen.

25
 Chapter 4

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

LaNi5 is chosen as the hydriding alloy due to its fast reaction kinetics, good hydrogen storage
capacity, flat plateau and low hysteresis. Hydrogen sorption in LaNi5 is fast and the alloy
performance is limited by heat transfer in most applications. The simulation of metal hydride
actuators are carried out using COMSOL Multiphysics 3.5a software. The simulation is
extended up to 2000 seconds. The physical properties of LaNi5 and Styrene Butadiene
Rubber(SBR) are given in Table 4.1 and the parameter values used are given in Table
4.2.Simulation is done for bending,twisting and rotating actuators and parametric studies are
done for Snail actuators.For snail actuators both absorption and desorption is simulated and
the parameter studies are done for both hydriding and dehydriding. The simulation is carried
out to find the effect of operating parameters like coolant temperature, supply pressure,
hydride bed thickness and on hydride bed temperature, actuator displacement and
concentration.

Table 4.1:Physical Properties of LaNi5 & SBR

26
Table 4.2:Parameter values used in the study

Parameters Value

Initial Temperature 300K

Heat transfer coefficient of coolant 500,750,1500 W/m2K

Supply Pressure for absorption 10,11,12,13,14 bar

Supply Pressure for desorption 2,3,4,5,6 bar

External Fluid Temperature for absorption 300,310,320,330,340 K

External Fluid Temperature for desorption 350,360,370,380,390 K

4.1Initial Results
Fig 4.1 shows the variation of bed temperature with time. Initially the bed temperature shoots
up and then decreases gradually until steady state is achieved. Initially, during absorption, the
process is a combination of physical adsorption and chemisorption. This complete reaction is
exothermic in nature. This reaction occurs at a very fast rate. However, during this process
the equilibrium pressure rises which causes a decrease in the differential pressure (p-
peq),which decreases absorption. After the reaction is completed temperature gradually
reduces to the ambient condition.

Fig 4.2 shows the variation displacement with time. Initially the displacement rises and
gradually reaches maximum value.The displacement is due to the stresses induced inside the
bed upon the introduction of hydrogen. The stresses induced in the container are due to the
volumetric expansion of alloy particles, gas pressure and thermal expansion.As the hydride
volume increases linearly with hydrogen concentration an effective expansion coefficient
which accounts for both thermal expansion and volume expansion of alloy particles during
hydriding. Once saturation is attained the actuation is ceased as the density becomes equal to
density at saturation, which makes the value of expansion coefficient as zero as per the
formula.

27
Fig 4.1:Variation of temperature with time

Fig 4.2:Variation of displacement with time

28
(a)Bending Actuator

t=30s t=60s

t=90s t=120s

t=150s t=180s

Fig 4.3:Spatial Variation of concentration with time

29
t=30s t=60s

t=90s t=120s

t=150s t=180s

Fig 4.4:Spatial Variation of temperature with time

30
(b)Twisting actuator

t=60s
t=30s

t=90s t=120s

t=150s t=180s

Fig 4.5:Spatial Variation of concentration with time

31
t=30s t=60s

t=90s t=120s

Fig 4.6:Spatial Variation of temperature with time

32
(c)Rotating actuator

t=30s t=60s

t=90s t=120s

t=150s t=180s

Fig 4.7:Spatial Variation of concentration with time

33
t=30s t=60s

t=90s t=120s

t=180s
t=150s

Fig 4.8:Spatial Variation of temperature with time

34
Snail Actuator

t=30s t=60s

t=90s t=120s

t=180s
t=150s

Fig 4.9:Spatial Variation of concentration with time during hydriding

35
 t=30s t=60s

t=90s t=120s

t=150s t=180s

Fig 4.10:Spatial Variation of temperature with time during hydriding

36
 t=40s t=80s

t=120s t=160s

t=200s t=240s

Fig 4.11:Spatial Variation of concentration with time during dehydriding

37
 t=40s t=80s

t=120s t=160s

t=200s t=240s

Fig 4.12:Spatial Variation of temperature with time during dehydriding

38
4.2 Variation of displacement along the actuator
The sorption of hydrogen onto the system causes an increase in hydride volume. As the
hydride volume increases linearly with hydrogen concentration, there is an effective
expansion which accounts for both thermal expansion and volume expansion of alloy
particles. This expansion causes a deformation in the actuator.

0.008
30s
0.006
60s

0.004
90s

0.002 120s
Displacement(m)

0 150s
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2
180s
-0.002

-0.004 b=1mm
T=300K
-0.006 p=15bar

-0.008

-0.01
Length(m)

Fig 4.13:Variation of displacement with length during hydriding

Fig 4.13 shows the variation of displacement with length during hydriding of the actuator.
The actuator can be divided in 6 sections where the layers of metal hydride and rubber are
placed alternatively , one layer on top and the other at the bottom, adjacent to each other. Due
to the volumetric expansion of the hydride particles and the thermal expansion, a bending is
observed in each section of the model. But, this peculiar arrangement causes the bending of
each section to be opposite, with respect to the adjacent section. This is what causes the
actuator to build up into a snail like motion.

Fig 4.14 analyses the disparity in Fig 4.13 where the end portions show a greater
displacement compared to the inner sections. Fig 4.14 show the variation in displacement at
different sections along the width of the actuator. A higher displacement arc is observed at
the end sections. This is because, as three parts of the end sections are not constrained by any

39
contact surfaces, and all the boundary conditions are same throughout the model, the
expansion has an effect along the width too. Hence bending along width is observed for all
sections. The bending is higher for the end sections because the three sides of the end
sections are not constrained by any contact pairs.

0
0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06 0.07
-0.001

b=1mm 15mm
-0.002
T=300K
135mm
p=15bar
-0.003
Displacement(m)

75mm

-0.004

-0.005

-0.006

-0.007

-0.008
Width(m)

Fig 4.14:Variation of displacement along width

4.3 Variation of Stress and Strain

The stresses induced in the actuator are due to the volumetric expansion of alloy particles,
gas pressure and thermal expansion. This stress in turn induces a strain on the model hence
causing the actuation.
Fig 4.15 depicts the variation of stress with time during hydriding and dehydriding. The
sorption of hydrogen onto the system causes an increase in hydride volume. As the hydride
volume increases linearly with hydrogen concentration, the volumetric and thermal expansion
increases with time.But,this stops when the bed becomes saturated with hydrogen.Therefore,
stress gradually increases until saturation is attained in the actuator.Since the strain induced in
the actuator is because of the stress,the strain also keeps increasing until saturation is
attained.The same can be said for desorption where the stress and strain keeps decreasing
until all the hydrogen is desorbed from the actuator.This is confirmed by the curve showing
the variation of strain v/s time in Fig 4.16.

40
 4.5E+09

4E+09

3.5E+09
Desorption
Von Mises Stress(N/m2)

3E+09
Absorption
2.5E+09

2E+09

1.5E+09

1E+09

500000000

0
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500
Time(s)

Fig 4.15:Variation of stress with time

0.05

0.045

0.04

0.035
Desorption
0.03
Absorption
Strain

0.025

0.02

0.015

0.01

0.005

0
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500
Time(s)

Fig 4.16:Variation of strain with time

41
4.4 Variation of Temperature
The sorption of hydrogen on to the bed is an exothermic reaction whereas the desorption of
hydrogen from the metal hydride bed is an endothermic reaction. Hence it is pertinent that a
study should be conducted on the temperature variations developed inside the actuator during
hydrogen sorption and desorption.

Fig 4.17 shows the variation of bed temperature with time during hydriding.Initially the bed
temperature shoots up and then decreases gradually until steady state is
achieved.Initially,during absorption, the process is a combination of physical adsorption and
chemisorption.This complete reaction is exothermic in nature.This reaction occurs at a very
fast rate.However,during this process the equilibrium pressure rises which causes a decrease
in the differential pressure(p-peq ),which decreases absorption.After the reaction is completed
temperature gradually reduces to the ambient condition.

Fig 4.18 shows the variation of bed temperature with time during dehydriding.The desorption
of hydrogen from the metal hydride bed is an endothermic reaction which means that the
desorption is accompanied by a reduction in temperature when energy is supplied on to the
bed.But, in this case the plot between temperature and time shows a constant rise in
temperature.The reduction in temperature is not observed because the difference between
external temperature and initial temperature of the actuator is very high, so much so that it
dominates the effect of temperature reduction during dehydriding of hydrogen from the metal
hydride bed.This would not have been the case for higher ranges of bed thickness. Since the
bed thickness is very small (1mm) this effect is observed.

As the temperature variations are a by-product of concentration changes, the temperature

variations will only exist as long as hydrogen gets absorbed or desorbed from the bed.Once
the hydrogen reaches saturation or is completely emptied out from the bed the temperature
variation ceases and becomes constant.Hence, from Figs 4.17 and 4.18 we see that
temperature gradually becomes constant after a period of time for absorption and desorption.

42
 335

330

b=1mm
325 h=500 W/m2K
p=15bar
320 Tf=300K
Temperature(K)

315

310

305

300

295
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450
Time(s)

Fig 4.17:Variation of Temperature with time during hydriding

370

360

350
b=1mm
p=2bar
Temperature(K)

340
h=500W/m2K
330 Tf=350K

320

310

300

290
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450
Time(s)

Fig 4.18:Variation of Temperature with time during dehydriding

43
4.5 Effect of Operating Parameters
By varying different operating parameters the sorption performance can be changed. The
difference in sorption will invariably cause a difference in effective displacement in the
actuator or effective actuation. Hence it is important to study the effect of operating
parameters which influence the sorption performance and actuation performance. The main
operating parameters to be studied are:
1) Cooling fluid temperature

2) Supply pressure

3) Effective heat transfer coefficient of cooling fluid

4.5.1 Effect of cooling fluid temperature

Fig 4.19 shows the variation of hydrogen concentration with time for different external fluid
temperatures during hydriding. We can elucidate that as the external fluid temperature
decreases the temperature of hydride bed decreases. Due to the reduction in temperature of
the hydride bed the equilibrium pressure decreases. This reduction in pressure causes a higher
differential for a given supply pressure. Due to the higher differential pressure the rate of
hydriding increases. Therefore, as the external fluid temperature decreases the rate of
hydriding increases.

Fig 4.20 shows the variation of hydrogen concentration with time for different external fluid
temperatures during dehydriding. The same trend as that of absorption is observed here. As
the external fluid temperature increases the supply pressure increases which creates a higher
differential encouraging desorption or dehydriding of the metal hydride.

As the variation in concentration is proportional to the magnitude of displacement in the

actuator, the same trends observed in Figs 4.21 and 4.22 for concentration can be applied for
displacement variation too. This is confirmed by Figs 4.21 and 4.22 showing the variation of
displacement with time for different cooling fluid temperatures during hydriding and
dehydriding.

44
 1.4

1.2
300K
1
b=1mm 310K
H/M ratio(%)

0.8 p=15bar
320K
h=500w/m2K
0.6 330K

340K
0.4

0.2

0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600
Time(s)

Fig 4.19:Effect of cooling fluid temperature on concentration during hydriding

Time(s)
0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600

-0.2

b=1mm 350K
-0.4 p=2bar
h=500W/m2K 360K
H/M ratio(%)

-0.6 370K

380K
-0.8
390K
-1

-1.2

-1.4

Fig 4.20: Effect of cooling fluid temperature of concentration during dehydriding

45
 0.006

0.005

0.004 300K
Displacement(m)

b=1mm 310K
0.003
p=15bar
320K
h=500W/m2K
0.002 330K

340K
0.001

0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600
Time(s)

Fig 4.21: Effect of cooling fluid temperature on displacement during hydriding

0.006

0.005

b=1mm 350K
0.004 p=2bar
Displacement(m)

h=500W/m2K 360K

0.003 370K

380K
0.002
390K

0.001

0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600
Time(s)

Fig 4.22: Effect of cooling fluid temperature on displacement during dehydriding

46
4.5.2 Effect of supply pressure
Fig 4.23 shows the variation of hydrogen concentration with time for different supply
pressure during hydriding. We can observe that the absorption concentration increases up to
nearly 150 seconds and then attains saturation. The rate of hydrogenation depends on the
differential between the supply pressure and equilibrium pressure. Therefore higher supply
pressure leads to higher rate of hydrogen sorption.
Fig 4.24 shows the variation of hydrogen concentration with time for different supply
pressure during dehydriding. It shows the hydrogen concentration reduces at a faster rate for
lower supply pressures due to the fact that the rate of dehydriding depends on the differential
between supply pressure and equilibrium pressure.
As the variation in concentration is proportional to the magnitude of displacement in the
actuator, the same trends observed in Figs 4.23 and 4.24 for concentration can be applied for
displacement variation too. This is confirmed by Figs 4.25 and 4.26 showing the variation of
displacement with time for different supply pressures during hydriding and dehydriding.

1.4

1.2

11bar
1
b=1mm 12bar
T=300K
H/M ratio(%)

0.8 h=500W/m2K
13bar

0.6 14bar

15bar
0.4

0.2

0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600
Time(s)

Fig 4.23: Effect of supply pressure on concentration during hydriding

47
 0.2
Time(s)

0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600

-0.2

2bar
b=1mm
-0.4
T=350K
H/M ratio(%)

h=500W/m2K 3bar

-0.6 4bar

-0.8 5bar

6bar
-1

-1.2

-1.4

Fig 4.24: Effect of supply pressure on concentration during dehydriding

0.006

0.005

0.004 11bar
Displacement(m)

b=1mm 12bar
0.003 T=300K
h=500W/m2K 13bar

0.002 14bar

15bar
0.001

0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600
Time(s)

Fig 4.25: Effect of supply pressure on displacement during hydriding

48
 0.006

0.005
b=1mm
T=350K 2bar
h=500W/m2K
0.004 3bar
Displacement(m)

4bar
0.003
5bar

0.002 6bar

0.001

0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600
Time(s)

Fig 4.26: Effect of supply pressure on displacement during dehydriding

4.5.3 Effect of heat transfer coefficient of coolant

The cooling fluid plays a very important part when it comes to actuation.Fig 4.27 shows the
curve representing the variation of concentration with time for different heat transfer
coefficients.As the heat transfer coefficient of cooling fluid is increased the heat carrying or
heat dissipation capacity of the cooling fluid is increased which improves the sorption
performance. Here the blue curve represents the highest heat transfer coefficient and for any
given time the amount of hydrogen absorbed in the bed is the highest for this curve.
The increase in sorption performance means the actuation becomes faster. As the response
time for an actuator is one of the most important parameter in the field of actuation the heat
transfer coefficient plays a very important role. This is confirmed by Fig 4.29 and 4.30 which
shows the variation of displacement during hydriding and dehydriding of the actuator.

49
 1.4

1.2

1 1500W/m2K
b=1mm
H/M ratio(%)

0.8 p=15bar
T=300K 750W/m2K

0.6
500W/m2K
0.4

0.2

0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600
Time(s)

Fig 4.27:Effect of heat transfer coefficient of coolant on concentration during

hydriding

Time(s)
0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600

-0.2

b=1mm 500W/m2K
-0.4 T=350K
p=2bar
H/M ratio(%)

-0.6 750W/m2K

-0.8
1500W/m2K

-1

-1.2

-1.4

Fig 4.28:Effect of heat transfer coefficient of coolant on concentration during

dehydriding

50
 0.006

0.005

0.004
Displacement(m)

1500W/m2K

0.003 b=1mm
p=15bar
750W/m2K
T=300K
0.002

500W/m2K
0.001

0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600
Time(s)

Fig 4.29:Effect of heat transfer coefficient of coolant on displacement during

hydriding

0.006

0.005 b=1mm 500W/m2K

p=2bar
T=350K
0.004
750W/m2K
Displacement(m)

0.003
1500W/m2K

0.002

0.001

0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600
Time(s)

Fig 4.30:Effect of heat transfer coefficient of coolant on displacement during

dehydriding

51
 Chapter 5
CONCLUSIONS
Initially, different metal hydride actuators were modelled with an intention to produce shapes
like bending, twisting etc. A biomimetic snail actuator was finally modelled and its
simulation was carried out using COMSOL Multiphysics 3.5. The actuator consists of pairs
of metal hydride beds and SBR layers arranged alternately, one on top and the other at
bottom, adjacent to one another. The displacement observed in the actuator was studied
during hydriding and dehydriding of the actuator. Along with that, the influence of salient
parameters such as supply pressure, external fluid temperature and overall heat transfer
coefficient, on the hydride concentration and displacement of the actuator was investigated.

The salient conclusions from the study are as follows:

 The hydriding of the model under investigation gave a snail-like actuation and the
dehydriding of the actuator brought the actuator back to its original shape, hence
showing shape memory characteristics
 The model under investigation presents itself as an effective actuation system because
of its inherent shape memory effect.
 Supply pressure, coolant temperature and overall heat transfer coefficient are
important operational parameters that control the response time of the actuator.

52
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55
 CURRICULUM VITAE

1 NAME BHARATH RAM

2 ADDRESS ARRA-160,
KALAKAUMUDI ROAD,
KUMARAPURAM, TRIVANDRUM,
MEDICAL COLLEGE P.O,
695011
Phone No: 8137974501
Email-ID: rambharath2445@gmail.com
3 DATE OF BIRTH 21-06-1996

4 EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS
 2012 CBSE INSTITUTION ARYA CENTRAL SCHOOL,PATTOM
PERCENTAGE 9.2 CGPA

 2014 CBSE INSTITUTION ARYA CENTRAL SCHOOL,PATTOM

PERCENTAGE 91%

 2018 B.Tech INSTITUTION SCT COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING,

PAPPANAMCODE

SPECIALIZATION MECHANICAL

56
1 NAME GOKUL DAS

2 ADDRESS TC 17/1453(1),KNRA-52,
KAILAS NAGAR,
POOJAPPURA,695012
TRIVANDRUM
Phone No: 9526005070
Email-ID: greengowwe9@gmail.com
3 DATE OF BIRTH 09-03-1996

4 EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS
 2012 CBSE INSTITUTION ST MARY‟S CENTRAL
SCHOOL,POOJAPPURA
PERCENTAGE 9.4 CGPA

 2014 CBSE INSTITUTION ST MARY‟S CENTRAL

SCHOOL,POOJAPPURA
PERCENTAGE 94.2%

 2018 B.Tech INSTITUTION SCT COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING,

PAPPANAMCODE

SPECIALIZATION MECHANICAL

57
1 NAME BINOY G BABU

2 ADDRESS PARAYANKONATHU VEEDU,

CHERUVIKKAL,SREEKARIYAM,
THIRUVANATHAPURAM
Phone No: 8547794985
Email-ID: binoyyonib123@gmail.com
3 DATE OF BIRTH 21-02-1995

4 EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS
 2011 STATE INSTITUTION ST MARY‟S HSS
PATTOM
PERCENTAGE 85%

 2013 CBSE INSTITUTION LOYOLA SCHOOL,

THIRUVANATHAPURAM
PERCENTAGE 86%

 2018 B.Tech INSTITUTION SCT COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING,

PAPPANAMCODE

SPECIALIZATION MECHANICAL

58
1 NAME GOKUL G R

2 ADDRESS GOKULAM
NILAMEL
NEYYATTINKARA,695121
TRIVANDRUM
Phone No: 9496017105
Email-ID: gokulgopan2012@gmail.com
3 DATE OF BIRTH 19-06-1996

4 EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS
 2012 STATE INSTITUTION
GRADE
SREE VIDHYADHIRAJA VIDHYA
NILAYAM HIGHER SECONDARY
SCHOOL,NEYYATTINKARA
8A+,2A

 2014 STATE INSTITUTION GOVT.HSS NEYYATTINKARA

PERCENTAGE 91.2%

 2018 B.Tech INSTITUTION SCT COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING,

PAPPANAMCODE

SPECIALIZATION MECHANICAL

59