Effect of conventional and additive manufacturing reactors on hydrogen charging process

In this study, experimental studies were conducted in conventional 304 stainless steel plain reactors and AlSi10Mg reactors with a simple lattice geometry. LaNi5 was selected as the hydrogen storage material. In experiments with a conventional stainless steel reactor, LaNi5 activated after five charge-discharge cycles, while in the additively manufactured AlSi10Mg bed, the material was activated in a short time after just one charge-discharge cycle. The open-pore structure of the lattice improved fluid flow and heat transfer, increasing the overall efficiency of the metal hydride bed. As a result of the experiment, 0.64 g of hydrogen was stored in the conventional and simple lattice geometry reactors.