Hydrogen's growing importance as a sustainable energy carrier highlights critical challenges in storage, particularly the behavior of elastomer seals in high-pressure systems. Due to hydrogen's small molecular size, these seals (e.g., O-rings) are highly susceptible to Rapid Gas Decompression (RGD) failures following pressure drops (≥ 100 bar).
- During your thesis you will develop, implement and validate a custom high-pressure test rig. This involves bringing a custom test rig to full operational capability, specifically designed for operation up to 1000 bar. This rig is configured to investigate the deformation behavior of elastomeric sealing materials under RGD conditions.
- You will collaborate by the implementation and adaptation of the electronic test rig control.
- Experimental data acquisition and analysis also fall within your area of responsibility. You will utilize an inline camera system to capture O-ring projected area changes during tests and analyze experimental results that have already demonstrated differentiation of elastomer materials (EPDM, VMQ, FKM) under RGD.
- Finally, you will establish a foundation for future investigations into elastomer performance under extreme hydrogen conditions.