Preliminary Performance Assessment of Commercially-Available Hydrogen Sensors.
Preliminary Performance Assessment of
Commercially-Available Hydrogen Sensors.
(158 K)
Marsh, N. D.; Cleary, T. G.
Materials Issues in a Hydrogen Economy International
Symposium. Proceedings. November 12-15, 2007,
Richmond, VA, 1-8 pp, 2007.
Keywords:
hydrogen; sensors; test methods; fire detectors;
performance evaluation; semiconductor devices; thermal
conductivity; flammability limits; certification;
response time; moisture; UL 2075
Abstract:
As part of an effort to develop standard test methods
for the performance of commercial
hydrogen sensors, we employed the Fire Emulator /
Detector Evaluator, an instrumented
flow system designed to study the response of fire
detectors (smoke, heat, gas), in a
preliminary study to evaluate the performance of a
representative selection of
commercially-available hydrogen sensors. These sensors
depend on a variety of sensing
technologies including metal-oxide semiconductors,
electrochemical cells, catalytic bead
pellistors, thermal conductivity sensors, and sensors
employing a combination of
technologies. They were evaluated both for their
response to hydrogen concentrations up
to half the lower flammability limit, and their response
to nuisance gases (CO, CO2, NOx,
hydrocarbon gas and vapor-all potentially present in
hydrogen dispensing and storage
areas), as well as dynamic changes in environmental
conditions by varying temperature,
humidity, and flow velocity. These performance
evaluations provide guidance for the
development of a test method designed to assess
real-world performance of hydrogen gas
sensors. The ultimate goal is to develop standard test
methods to be employed by product
certification agencies.
Building and Fire Research Laboratory
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Gaithersburg, MD 20899