Product design of a hydrogen sensing system

Abstract

In the era where fuel cell vehicles are gaining importance, hydrogen as an alternate fuel for a greener and sustainable environment is a topic that is gaining importance. Hydrogen is a highly flammable gas with a high coefficient of diffusion (0.60 cm²/s in the air) and is highly detonative [1]. Due to these properties of the gas, there is a dire need for accurate and precise sensing systems to ensure safety at locations of usage. Many parameters are considered to find the right type of hydrogen sensors for specific applications like fuel cells, hydrogen fuel stations, laboratories, refineries, and so on.

Hydrogen sensors are developed base on the application and requirement. Once the raw sensor is optimized for this sensitivity and selectivity, developing the sensing system involved product design, among other steps involved. The features required for a sensing system other than the sensing itself, such as the use of cost-effective materials, user persona, ease of manufacturing, and handling are brought in through the product design. The product design of a gas sensor, though a crucial topic of study is often overlooked.

Product design is a non-linear, customer-centric process that companies use to understand customers, redefine problem statements, and create innovative prototypes. Design thinking when applied to product design results in end-to-end product development and helps validate solutions for real users.

As seen from the literature, though research articles are talking about the different methodologies adopted to synthesize various kinds of hydrogen sensors using a wide range of materials, there is no single paper that describes this end-to-end product development process. In this paper, an attempt is made to develop a hydrogen sensing system while highlighting the various aspects of product design. Hence, this paper guides through the development of a gas sensing system leading to product development. Design thinking is kept at the core of the product design strategy adopted in this paper, and a few more steps were added to streamline and enhance the product design process.

Three design variants were developed for different applications using Solidworks and Tinkercad software as shown by fig.2-A, B, C. As circuit design was essential to determine the exact dimensions of the product, a Wi-Fi-enabled circuit for a generic hydrogen sensing system was utilized which is as shown by fig.2D.