Thermoacoustic Pulse-Modulated Refueling Control for Optimizing Pressure Stability and Thermal Cycling Performance in Composite CNG Truck Tanks

Blessing Zekieni Yelebe; Owei L Youpele

doi:10.56201/ijemt.vol.12.no7.2026.pg32.52

📄 Download Paper

Thermoacoustic Pulse-Modulated Refueling Control for Optimizing Pressure Stability and Thermal Cycling Performance in Composite CNG Truck Tanks

Blessing Zekieni Yelebe, Owei L Youpele

Abstract

Composite natural gas truck tanks face critical challenges during refueling, including pressure instability and thermal cycling-induced degradation at the polymer liner-composite interface. We propose a novel pulse-modulated refueling control system that replaces conventional continuous- fill protocols with a binary-switched injection strategy. The system integrates three functional modules: a thermoacoustic wave propagation predictor that computes acoustic impedance and sets an upper bound for switching periods, a transient conjugate heat transfer solver that tracks thermal stress evolution across the composite wall layers, and a genetic algorithm-based pulse train optimizer that minimizes a multi-objective cost function balancing final pressure accuracy against thermal stress magnitude and deviation from equilibrium. The predictor employs a neural network trained on synthetic data from a linearized Euler model, while the heat transfer solver uses a Crank-Nicolson finite-difference scheme with an adaptive time step. The optimizer executes offline on a fleet management server to generate optimal pulse sequences stored in a lookup table indexed by initial conditions; a real-time proportional-integral regulator then adjusts the switching frequency to compensate for station supply variations. This system modifies the refueling process at the dispenser level through an extended SAE J2600 protocol, gating the mass flow rate via the existing solenoid valve. Our approach reduces thermal stress amplitudes by controlling pulse duty cycles and switching frequencies, thereby mitigating micro-crack formation at the liner- composite bond. Furthermore, it maintains pressure stability by avoiding constructive interference of pressure waves that would cause super-adiabatic temperature spikes. The main contribution lies in transforming refueling from a passive, continuous process into an actively controlled, thermoacoustically-aware operation that optimizes both structural integrity and filling efficiency.

References

Bestehorn, M. (2024). Non-equilibrium thermodynamics: Entropy, heat and mass transfer. books.google.com. Bibbo, N., Larsen, M., Baumgartner, J., et al. (2022). An improved rainflow counting method for multiaxial stress states using the minimum circumscribed circle method to identify shear stress ranges. International Journal of Fatigue. Busacca, P., Marseguerra, M., & Zio, E. (2001). Multiobjective optimization by genetic algorithms: Application to safety systems. Reliability Engineering & System Safety. Cardona, P., Costa-Castelló, R., Roda, V., et al. (2023). Model predictive control of an on-site green hydrogen production and refuelling station. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy. Chen, Q., Jia, R., & Pang, S. (2021). Deep long short-term memory neural network for accelerated elastoplastic analysis of heterogeneous materials: An integrated data-driven surrogate approach. Composite Structures. Cheng, X., & Liang, X. (2017). Role of entropy generation minimization in thermal optimization. Chinese Physics B. Farzaneh-Gord, M., Deymi-Dashtebayaz, M., et al. (2011). Studying effects of storage types on performance of CNG filling stations. Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering. Holyst, R., Giżyński, K., Maciołek, A., Makuch, K., et al. (2025). Global non-equilibrium thermodynamics for steady states like never before. Europhysics Letters. Kashyzadeh, K. R., & Marusin, A. (2023). Service life prediction of type-IV composite CNG cylinder under the influence of drivers’ refueling habits-a numerical study. Polymers. Kazimierczuk, M. (2015). Pulse-width modulated DC-DC power converters. books.google.com. Kuczyński, S., Liszka, K., Łaciak, M., Olijnyk, A., & Szurlej, A. (2019). Experimental investigations and operational performance analysis on compressed natural gas home refueling system (CNG-HRS). Energies. Li, F., Liu, Z., Sun, X., Li, H., & Meng, G. (2015). Propagation of guided waves in pressure vessel. Wave Motion. Luo, H., Yuan, C., Wang, L., Yang, T., Tong, L., et al. (2024). Heat transfer analysis methodology for compression hydrogen storage tank during charge-discharge cycle. International Journal of Energy Research. Nouri, M., Ghasemi, F., Sherbaf, G., et al. (2023). Fatigue analysis of a type-IV CNG composite cylinder with variable wall-thickness and polyethylene liner. Mechanics of Composite Materials. Özcan, F., & Kılıç, M. (2025). Dynamic modeling of a compressed natural gas refueling station and multi-objective optimization via gray relational analysis method. Applied Sciences. Ramoutar, S., & Riverol, C. (2017). A thermodynamic analysis of refueling a natural gas vehicle cylinder from a cascade reservoir using chilled natural gas. Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering. Saferna, A., Saferna, P., Kuczyński, S., Łaciak, M., Szurlej, A., et al. (2021). Thermodynamic analysis of CNG fast filling process of composite cylinder type IV. Energies. Sgaramella, A., Basso, G., & Santoli, L. D. (2024). How the cylinder initial conditions affect the HCNG refuelling process-a thermodynamic analysis to determine the most effective filling parameters. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy. IJEMT Zhang, J., Liu, P., Fan, L., & Deng, Y. (2020). Analysis on dynamic response characteristics of high-speed solenoid valve for electronic control fuel injection system. Mathematical Problems in Engineering.

Thermoacoustic Pulse-Modulated Refueling Control for Optimizing Pressure Stability and Thermal Cycling Performance in Composite CNG Truck Tanks

Abstract

References

More Articles from INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING AND MODERN TECHNOLOGY