Being the core of the dispute between early electric car adopters, hydrogen may be the solution to the electric movement, eventually even beating batteries by cleanliness. The technology behind hydrogen powered cars poses a few issues, though.
One of them is the property of hydrogen of making metals become brittle. Steel, magnesium, aluminum, regularly used in the making of high pressure fueling systems reduce their ductility and hence durability in the presence of hydrogen.
For studying the effect of hydrogen on metals, researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Mechanics of Materials IWM in Freiburg, Germany, have devised a special laboratory that may help them find materials and manufacturing processes that are not affected by this phenomenon. Nicholas Winzer, one of the scientists, says: “With our new special laboratory, we are investigating how and at which speed hydrogen migrates through a metal. We are able to detect the points at which the element accumulates in the material, and where it doesn’t.”
With special heat treatments, the Fraunhofer team is able to measure the diffusible portion of the hydrogen and the rate that it’s transported through the meta while at the same time applying mechanical stress on the material to see how it behaves under such conditions. They even have a special tensile test equipment that measures mechanical loading and hydrogen infiltration at the same time. Aided by computer simulations, the scientists then calculate the hydrogen embrittlement in the metals they studied.
It’s important for the industry to have precise manufacturing technologies because as electric cars will feature more and more power, the mechanical stress on various parts of the vehicle will increase, and in the case of hydrogen the weak part is the fueling system.
Liked it? Share onFacebook and Google +1:
| |  No comments yet.Break the ice! |  E-mail Updates |  |
| Also share story on: | Become our facebook fan |
Read next:
New Ceramic Material Makes Fuel Cells Capable of Using Normal FuelsResearchers from Georgia Institute of Technology have invented a new type of ceramic material that could widen the uses of SOFCs, so they could also be used with a wide range of liquid or gaseous fuels, without the need of separating hydrogen or cleaning them.
New Hydrogen Storage from Metal Alloy 40% Lighter Than BatteriesRobin Gremaud, a researcher from Netherlands, found out through experimentation that an alloy of the metals magnesium, titanium and nickel is absorbing hydrogen very well. What’s most interesting about his discovery is that the three metals form a very light alloy, about 40% lighter than a Lithium Ion battery pack at the same size (for example, a Prius battery weights 317 kg, while this hydrogen tank would only weight 200 kg).
Cloth Material Used in Fuel Cells Makes Them Cheaper Than Ever!A team of scientists from the Monash University, Australia, has designed a fuel cell which will be used in the latest generation of hybrid cars. Their fuel cells could make the vehicles more reliable and more cheap to build.
Scientists Use Palladium as Core to New Hydrogen Fuel Cell-Improving NanoparticleHydrogen fuel cells generate electricity when fed with hydrogen, which combines with oxygen and results water. Still, hydrogen fuel cells are expensive due to the catalyst used in the cathode for the reaction known as oxygen reduction. That catalyst is 100% pure platinum, which is a rare and expensive material.
UK Researchers Use Bacteria to Generate Hydrogen from LandfillsAs you already know, Earth’s ecosystems are in a closed-loop. Researchers from the University of Birmingham have created a closed loop hydrogen energy eco-system based on two types of bacteria and a twist of fuel cell technology. How did they do that?
Comments from our readers
3167 total comments so far. What's your opinion ?- No comments on this article yet.
