Effective thermal conductivity of metal hydride powders : measurement and theoretical modelling

Abstract

Desorption of hydrogen from metal hydrides requires a supply of reaction enthalpy, absorption requires the removal of this enthalpy. Therefore, the effective thermal conductivity λe of the powdered metal hydride strongly influences the velocity of absorbing and desorbing hydrogen. Based on the cellular-model by Zehner, Bauer and Schlünder (1970, 1972, 1978) for porous media with inert void gases, an extended model is developed to calculate λe of powdery materials with a reaction between gas and solid. This reaction causes an elastic expansion of the particles. The extended model also takes into account methods of increasing λe such as a built-in metallic matrix.