基于热泵与蓄热的氢储能热管理分析

Abstract Metal hydride hydrogen storage is a solid-state hydrogen storage with high storage density and low pressure. Its performance faces challenges such as absorption without recovering heat, and desorption relies on electrical heating. Effective thermal management is essential for extensive metal hydride hydrogen storage applications. This study proposes a thermal management system based on heat pump with heat storage for metal hydride to improve energy utilisation. Heat pump recovers low-grade heat from absorption process and upgrades it to high-grade heat for desorption process. Heat storage reduces energy consumption and provides heat quickly for absorption and desorption. Simulation models of thermal management and metal hydride were established to analyse performance at different water temperatures, including water/alloy temperature, cooling/heating power, absorption/desorption times, and coefficient of performance. Results show that heat pump with heat storage provides effective thermal management for metal hydride hydrogen storage, offering a higher coefficient of performance than electric heating and a heat pump alone. The system achieves a cooling coefficient of performance of 4.2, which is 82.6% higher than that of the traditional heat pump. The heating coefficient of performance reaches 5.7, exceeding electric heating and a heat pump by 470% and 62.9%, respectively. The absorption process duration and desorption process duration were decreased by 15.7% and 18.7% respectively. The cyclical coefficient of performance can reach 5.4.