Automotive Engineering - November/December 2021 - 25

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Fuel cell module engineering for light-duty vehicles incorporates the cell stack and
centrifugal-type air pump, on display at Faurecia's 2021 IAA Munich booth.
the tanks also can be toroidal in shape.
The cylinders are robustly constructed
of reinforced, spiral-wound carbon fiber
to ensure safe storage of the gas
at the high pressures typically used in
fuel-cell vehicles.
Tanks must be certified to the rigorous
ISO/TS 15869 standard, requiring a battery
of tests including burst (typically
more than 2X the working pressure),
fatigue (several thousand cycles of
charging/emptying), fire (exposing the
tank to open fire), leak/permeation
(measuring the volume of gas escaping
within a period of time) and ballistics,
where live ammunition is fired at the
tank. Faurecia has invested heavily in
in-house testing capabilities, March said.
Tank technology continues to progress,
albeit incrementally, explained
Charles Shappell, engineering director
at Faurecia's Zero Emissions group in
Farmington Hills, Michigan. " We are
focusing on 350-bar (5,000-psi) and
700-bar (10,000-psi) pressures because
that's where the tank technology is toAUTOMOTIVE
ENGINEERING
day for automotive use - and it's where
we think the pressures will be going
forward, " Shappell said. " We have Type
III tank capabilities through our acquisition
of CLD, but we're really focusing on
Type IV tanks. "
Type III tanks feature a carbon-fiberresin
outer shell encapsulating a steel or
aluminum vessel inside. The CF exterior
shell is engineered to take loads placed
on the tank. Type IV tanks are better
suited for mobility applications. They're
constructed entirely of carbon fiber,
with a polyamide- or polyethylene-plastic
liner. The tank's port is a metallic
boss integrated into the structure.
The hydrogen molecule's tiny size
means it's a natural escape artist. Gas
retention is an ongoing challenge in
tank and systems design, said Shappell,
who spent a decade as Faurecia's innovation
director. " The tank liner is where
the technical challenge begins. The
boss between the liner and tank is critical,
too, " he explained. Liner materials
R&D is a focus of Shappell's team and
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Automotive Engineering - November/December 2021

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