What are you really testing – the technology or the test set-up?
As discussed in previous postings, hydrogen poses more than its fair share of challenges to everyone - not just the hydrogen safety engineer - but also the process engineers, research scientists, test engineers, and the procurement team who are constantly replacing what has been damaged during lab testing which more often than not, is not just the technology under testing.
Due to the reactive and thermodynamic behaviours of hydrogen, an additional complication is added to what is probably already complicated testing plan and set-up. Unlike the testing of electronic, mechanical, electromechanical, etc., technologies, not only does the testing of the technology need to be carefully considered in order to obtain the required performance, durability/survivability or reliability data but the supporting set-up to the technology needs to be carefully designed - not just in terms of delivery / offtake of fluids as failures in the supporting equipment can be incorrectly taken as failure of the technology.
An example of this could be the testing of a new design of the heat transfer medium in an electrolyser. In order to test the new design, a pseudo balance of plant to deliver the electrolyte to the electrolyser and take produced hydrogen and oxygen to a safe location is required. Although a considerable amount of diligence is put into the design of the new heat transfer medium, for example, is the same amount being put into the design of the pseudo balance of plant? Has the pseudo balance of plant been designed in such a way that it does not introduce failures into the electrolyser or taint testing data? If you are frequently experiencing fire/explosion damage in the downstream equipment, the answer to the above question is probably no. Not only does the pseudo balance of plant need to be safe, but it also needs to be designed as a non-impact support system to the technology under testing.
Although hydrogen has been around for quite a while and a lot is known about it, there is also a lot still be to understand. Hydrogen is a speciality for all engineering disciplines – process, material, mechanical, instrumentation and control, electrical and of course, safety engineering. Qualification and test engineers can also be included in the list, depending upon who is designing the tests. The key to success in this area is for the various disciplines to work together but also for each one to stay in their lane. This may be controversial, but a process engineer does not have the same knowledge of hydrogen safety as a safety engineer and a hydrogen safety engineer does not have the same knowledge of the design of hydrogen plants as a process engineer. Working together they are a formidable team but for one to try to wear both hats is not a wise idea. The outcome can be both dangerous and expensive.
In summary, testing is a critical and let’s be honest, one of the fun parts of technology development. Proper testing of a technology is an essential part of its commercialisation and therefore, it is important that the testing is reflective of the actual behaviour of the technology and not be influenced but the set-up of the supporting systems. To do this all the engineering disciplines, including the hydrogen safety engineer who is not just there to model fires and explosions but to ensure the safety of the process, need to work together in developing the test set-up and plan to ensure the test is true to its objective/s. A little bit of teamwork can also save a lot of money in not having to replace damaged downstream equipment.
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