Optimization of Hydrogen Generator for UAVs

An optimization study was conducted for an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) hydrogen generator containment vessel utilizing ammonia borane pellets. The optimization considered pellet size, number of pellets, pellet spacing, chamber volume, and wall thickness. Candidate configurations were selected using an energy balance analysis. A transient Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis was performed on the candidate configurations to monitor heat transfer through the vessel before and after the reaction to ensure no other pellets reached the activation temperature. Chamber volume and pellet spacing were found to be the dominant parameters and a minimal mass design is presented.