Metal hydride heat pump - New type of heat converter

Selection of materials for metal hydride couples is considered for the development of refrigerating machines and hydride heat pumps (MHHP) in the temperature ranges from -30 to 200 degrees C. The slope of the plateau and hysteresis of ''pressure-composition'' isotherms, the influence of the mass of the reactor on the efficiency of cycle, and the choice of operating parameters are taken into account as opposed to the ideal thermodynamic cycle described in literature. Some results, obtained during the development and installation of MHHP for water cooling are presented. MHHP are assembled from modules with heat/cold capacity of 150-200 W. The design of the modules provides hydrogen transfer at approximately equal pressure in the high and low-temperature sides of reactor when the valves between them are absent. Copyright (C) 1996 International Association for Hydrogen Energy.