Publications

Diffusion Bonded Hydrogen Pre-Cooler Pressure Testing

Lance, Blake L.; Carlson, Matthew C.; Amogne, Dereje A.

Diffusion bonded heat exchangers, also known as printed circuit heat exchangers (PCHEs), have numerous benefits over traditional shell and tube heat exchangers including high pressure containment, a compact size with 1000 to 5000 m² of surface area per unit volume, and lower costs. One emerging application is in hydrogen vehicle fueling stations as a hydrogen pre-cooler (H2PC™) where the hydrogen is cooled at pressures up to 900 bar. These pre-coolers must be able to withstand pressure cycling over 10⁵ cycles during the fueling station lifetime without degradation of their pressure vessel integrity that could result in hydrogen leakage.