Hydrogen tank first filling experiments at the JRC-IET GasTeF facility

Storage of gases under pressure, including hydrogen, is a well-known technology. However the use of hydrogen in vehicles at pressures much higher than those applicable in natural gas cars still requires safety and performance studies with respect to the verification and validation of the existing standards and regulations. The JRC-IET has developed a facility, GasTeF, for carrying out tests on full-scale high pressure vehicle's tanks for hydrogen or natural gas. A typical test performed in GasTeF is the hydrogen cycling, in which tanks are filled and slowly emptied using hydrogen pressurised up to 88 MPa, for at least 1000 times in line with the requirements of the EU regulation on type-approval of hydrogen-powered motor vehicles. The temperature evolution of the gas inside and outside the tank is monitored using a thermocouples array system specifically designed for this purpose. This paper presents the first experimental results on the temperature distribution during hydrogen cycling tests.