Session: MF-02-06 Materials for Hydrogen Service (Joint with CS-02 and HT-07) - Hydrogen Exposure Effects

Paper Number: 105798

105798 - The Effects of Fillers on the Permeability of Polymers for Hydrogen Infrastructures 

 Various rubber materials are used for hydrogen seal in the connection parts of hydrogen refueling stations and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. Since these rubber materials are damaged and have a risk of hydrogen leakage due to an exposure to high-pressure hydrogen, many efforts have been made to reduce the degradation of the properties after high-pressure hydrogen exposure through various filler formulations. In this study, we investigate the hydrogen permeation characteristics of polymers blended with carbon black and silica fillers at different contents of 20 phr – 60 phr. In addition, we measure the changes in permeation characteristics due to exposure to 90 MPa high-pressure hydrogen. The permeability of the polymers decreases with the content of the fillers. In particular, it was found that the effect of reducing the permeability of CB was large. The diffusivity also decreased as the filler contents increased, but the solubility is independent of the filler contents. It seems that the fillers suppress hydrogen diffusion which leads to the reduction of the hydrogen permeation. The permeability of the polymers blended with carcon black content of 20 phr is slightly reduced after the hydrogen exposure, but the change rate was greatly increased with the carbon black contents. In the case of silica, the change rate was small up to 40 phr, but the addition with 60 phr causes the permeability change of more than 30% after the exposure. Therefore, it was found that an appropriate amount of filler should be added to enhance the properties in high-pressure hydrogen environments.

Presenting Author: Nak-Kwan Chung Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS)

Presenting Author Biography: I received my Bachelor of Science (1999) and Ph. D. (2007) form the Department of Physics at Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH). After two years of postdoctoral research in the Department of Chemistry at POSTECH, I joined Samsung Fine Chemicals to conduct the synthesis and analysis of electronic materials. Since 2012, I have been a Principal Researcher in Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS), and my main research interests are to investigate the properties of polymeric materials in the high-pressure hydrogen environments.

Authors:

Nak-Kwan Chung Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS)
Dojung Kim Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science
Chunjoong Kim Chungnam National University
Sangkoo Jeon Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science