Parametric studies on heat and mass transfer in metal hydride beds

The mathematical modelling of metal hydride beds of rectangular configuration has been carried out. The coupled heat and hydrogen transfer that takes place during absorption/desorption processes has been described by non-linear, unsteady partial differential equations. All parameters have been non-dimensionalised, thereby making the analysis a generalised one. The important alloy properties and operating conditions have been varied over a large range to make the results applicable to a variety of alloys and operating conditions. The effect of the important non-dimensional parameters on heat and mass transfer is studied. The results show the importance of heat-transfer enhancement in view of the very low thermal conductivity of hydride beds and fast kinetics. © 1993.