Effects of real gas equations on the fast-filling process of compressed hydrogen storage tank

Hydrogen-fueled, fuel-cell-powered cars offer environmentally friendly alternative for near future. One of the critical part of this technology is to store hydrogen efficiently and securely. Many different methods have been developed to store hydrogen. The most popular storage method for hydrogen storage in vehicles is compressible hydrogen storage tanks due to their lightweight and efficiency. One of the most important factors during filling is the filling time. During rapid filling, the tank temperature rises significantly, which can cause damage to the tank and create a dangerous situation. In this research, CFD simulation has been made for fast filling condition for compressible hydrogen storage tanks. It was decided to use the k-epsilon turbulence model and different real gas equations for numerical simulation. The effects of four different real gas equations and also ideal gas equation on the temperature, the pressure, and filling times are investigated numerically. As a result of the simulation, it was concluded that the use of different real gas equations does not have a significant effect on the temperature and the pressure of the storage tank. However, the filling duration of storage tank is slightly affected by usage of different real gas equations. Filling durations of hydrogen according to Redlich-Kwong equation of state increased for Soave-Redlich-Kwong equation 1.3 %, for Aungier Redlich-Kwong equation 1.5 %, for Peng-Rob-inson's equation of state 5.85 %, for ideal gas equation of state 24.2 %.