Multidisciplinary Design Optimization of Hydrogen Energy Storage using CFD Simulation

Entry requirements

Please use this Research Proposal, Personal statement and CV writing guide when preparing an application.

Months of entry

Anytime

Course content

Hydrogen is considered a promising clean and sustainable energy carrier that could help address global energy and environmental challenges. Hydrogen technology can hold the key to decarbonizing the transportation and the future aviation industry. However, using hydrogen technology in transportation applications is still under development and facing many challenges which include the cost of green hydrogen production, hydrogen storage, pipeline design and suitable hybrid engine. The conventional hydrogen storage method via compression or liquefaction can achieve high storage density compared to other storage methods. However, this storage method has some limitations like high pressure needed, high energy cost and safety issues. Overall, improvements are needed in materials, efficiency, and safety for viable hydrogen transportation.

Hydrogen storage tank design is a multidisciplinary endeavour that requires considering both thermal performance and structural integrity. Integrating CFD simulations with finite element analysis (FEA) enables the simultaneous optimization of both thermal and structural aspects of tank design. Multidisciplinary design optimization (MDO) frameworks facilitate the integration of various disciplines and optimization objectives. In Hydrogen storage design, MDO approaches enable the consideration of optimization constraints such as material availability, manufacturing feasibility, and environmental regulations. These constraints ensure that the optimized designs are practical and can be implemented in real-world scenarios.

This research aims to rethink the design of hydrogen storage thank by employing multidisciplinary optimisation approach. The multidisciplinary design optimization of hydrogen storage tank integrates CFD simulation with finite element analysis (FEA) to achieve highest possible pressure with minimum stress. This approach ensures that the proposed design of the tank meets safety, performance and cost effectiveness.

A comprehensive literature review will be conducted to identify key design parameters that affect the materials selections, Geometric parameters and operational conditions, like pressure, temperature, cycling loading of tanks. Also, thoroughly explore the existing methods and techniques which have been used to optimize the hydrogen tanks design.

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and finite element analysis (FEA) simulations will be developed various operating conditions to figure out a detailed and quantitative understanding of hydrogen pressure, temperature and structural stress within the tanks. FEA coupled with CFD simulation offers a powerful tool for optimizing the design of hydrogen storage tank. By considering multiple disciplines simultaneously and leveraging the power of optimization algorithms, this approach can lead to significant improvements in tank storage efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and environmental impact. The Multi-Objective Genetic Algorithm (MOGA) will be used as effective optimisation algorithm to find out the optimal design configuration that has minimum stress concentration and maximum storage efficiency.

The data collected from the multidisciplinary design optimization process will be analyzed to draw conclusions about the optimal tank geometries and design parameters that maximisee the pressure and minimize the stresses. The research findings will be written up in a thesis, including the methodology, results, and discussion of the findings.

Fees and funding

This programme is self-funded.

To enquire about University of Salford funding schemes – including the Widening Participation Scholarship – visit this website