In this tech talk, Steven had the pleasure of discussing the function and importance of pressure regulators in fuel cell systems with Jack Samways, Mechanical Engineer at PressureTech.
Learn about the function and importance of pressure regulators
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Steven discusses with Jack about the manual pressure regulator and the use of air-loaded pressure regulators for automated control in hydrogen refueling applications.
A pressure regulator is a mechanical valve that reduces high pressure to a smaller pressure. There are two types of regulators – spring-loaded and air-loaded – and how they work is discussed. Spring-loaded regulators work like manual valves, where turning a handle builds up pressure on the outlet. Fuel cell manufacturers use pressure regulators to achieve the required flow rate and set pressure for their systems, which must be very specific and accurate. The accuracy is crucial for fuel cell systems as they cannot vary too much in terms of the flow requirements and set pressure.
A video of the pressure regulator in action explains how the spring in the regulator is the one that does all the regulating. They have air-loaded pressure regulators that offer automated control and can be programmed to change the required set pressure depending on certain applications, mainly for hydrogen refueling.
The fuel cell manufacturers implement regulators into hydrogen systems and the power rating of the fuel cell defines a flow rate. The regulator controls the amount of hydrogen flowing to the fuel cell and maintains the required set pressure, which is crucial to ensure accurate flow and pressure.
If you like the video, please also subscribe to our new Hyfindr Youtube Channel. We launched Hyfindr Tech Talks in January – a new format that is specifically designed for engineers who are interesed in the hydrogen economy!
Steven is a fuel cell system designer and he will deep-dive into the technology that makes the hydrogen economy work with real experts. We hope you will like the new format.