TransForum Vol. 5, No. 1

New Hydrogen Supply System Adds Unique Testing Capabilities to Argonne's Advanced Powertrain Research Facility

Many experts believe that hydrogen is the fuel of the future, but what if you are trying to test a hydrogen-powered vehicle today? Finding a reliable and precisely metered supply of the gas for evaluating hydrogen-powered fuel cells and internal combustion engines fueled by hydrogen has been a bit of a challenge until now.

Researchers across the United States and the world will now have access to an advanced hydrogen delivery and metering system recently installed at the Advanced Powertrain Research Facility (APRF) located at Argonne National Laboratory. The APRF is the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) principal research facility for assessing advanced fuel cell and hybrid electric vehicle technologies for the DOE FreedomCAR and Vehicle Technologies Program.

One of the first hydrogen-powered vehicles to take advantage of the new hydrogen supply system was a modified Ford Explorer with a hydrogen-powered internal combustion engine. The Explorer's hybrid powertrain was developed by Texas Tech University for the DOE's FutureTruck student engineering competition. The hybrid electric vehicle uses a 2.3-L, 4-cylinder engine taken from a 1986 Mustang and modified to use gaseous hydrogen instead of liquid gasoline. APRF's new hydrogen feed system was instrumental in helping the students put the vehicle through its paces on the test stand.

APRF's development of the hydrogen gas supply system is entirely funded by DOE's FreedomCAR and Vehicle Technologies Program. Companies and organizations can request access to conduct their own testing in this unique user facility.

The manager of the project is Henry Ng, who said, "The hydrogen feed system significantly increases the capabilities of Argonne's APRF. It is now the only facility in the United States and just the second in the world equipped for dynamometer testing of all types of hydrogen vehicles, including those with 4-wheel drive." One of the biggest challenges, added Ng, was to ensure that the new supply system could provide — on demand — a large volume

of hydrogen to a test vehicle's engine and do so in precisely measured quantities to meet the real-time performance requirements for the aggressive acceleration required during certain emissions tests. The solution the engineering team developed was to use two separate, ultra-precise flowmeters to cover a very wide dynamic flow range: one meter for lower flow rates and the other for when higher gas volumes are required. The design permits the system to accept up to 500 pounds per square inch gauge (psig) of hydrogen from the storage tanks outside the APRF and then accurately deliver the gas to the test vehicle at pressures of 75-125 psig. This is all accomplished with the capability of metering the gas down to a fraction of a gram at 10-Hz data cycles.

Dave Shimcoski checks the hose connecting the Advanced Powertrain Research Facility's new hydrogen supply system to a test vehicle as Geoff Amann (center) and Henry Ng look on.

Closeup of the APRF's new hydrogen supply system.

July 20, 2005