Heat transfer optimization for MH reactor using combined taguchi design and data-driven optimization method

Adding the heat transfer enhancement components into the MH reactor can improve the hydrogen absorption/desorption rate, but the vital indicators as the gravimetric and volumetric hydrogen storage density decrease at the same time, which is hardly considered in the published researches. In this study, a comprehensive hydrogen storage performance (CHSP) indicator for the MH reactor has been proposed considering the above contradiction, which can be applied to evaluate the comprehensive performance of the MH reactor and compare the reactor performances with different heat transfer configurations. Then, with the constraint of the CHSP, the heat transfer structure of the classical finned-tube MH reactor is optimized using a novel sieving optimization strategy which combines the Taguchi design and the data-driven optimization (ANN model + GA) to increase the optimization efficiency and the reliability of optimization solutions. The optimized results indicate that the optimal structural parameters of the finned-tube MH reactor are the diameter of heat exchange tube d of 5.13 mm, the fin thickness h of 0.28 mm, the fin radius r of 21.73 mm and the fin number N of 11, and the optimal CHSP is 0.547 mg/s. •Considering tradeoff between reaction rate enhancement and hydrogen storage density decrease.•A comprehensive performance indicator CHSP for MH reactor is established.•Sieving optimization strategy is proposed to increase optimization efficiency.•Taguchi design is applied to decrease the required data size of ANN model.•The optimal CHSP of finned-tube MH reactor is 0.547 mg/s.