Analysis of Chamber Wall Thickness Influence on Liquid Piston Compressor Efficiency

Hydrogen technologies are increasingly important for energy storage and decarbonization of industrial and transport sectors. Hydrogen compression is accompanied by thermal effects that influence energy efficiency and thermal loading of compression systems. This study numerically investigates the influence of compression chamber wall thickness on heat transfer and wall temperature evolution during hydrogen compression in a liquid piston compressor. An axisymmetric multiphysics model was used to simulate a single compression stroke at initial pressures of 3–20 MPa, stroke durations of 0.5–20 s, and chamber wall thicknesses of 2.5–10 mm. The simulations show that wall temperature rise increases with compression stroke duration and initial pressure, while increasing wall thickness reduces the per-stroke temperature increase due to higher thermal inertia. The results also indicate non-uniform wall heating, with the highest temperatures occurring in the upper region of the compression chamber.