A review on effect of hydrogen on rubber seals used in the high-pressure hydrogen infrastructure

Abstract Hydrogen is believed to be an important energy storage vector to fully exploit the benefit of renewable and sustainable energy. Rubber seals are widely used in high-pressure hydrogen storage system, which may cause the occurrence of fracture or deterioration behavior inside the rubber, leading to a leak of explosive hydrogen. Thus, the effect of high-pressure hydrogen on the properties of rubber seals needs to be studied. In this paper, the material properties of rubber exposed to high-pressure hydrogen are elaborated, including transport properties, chemical structure, mechanical properties, rapid gas decompression and swelling. Simultaneously the sealing performance of rubber rings under high-pressure hydrogen is also presented, consisting of static and dynamic sealing characteristics. At the end of the article, some issues are proposed to provide reference train of thought for future research, involving types of fillers and rubbers, failure modes, impact of degradation on sealing performance, key parameters and design parameters, and effects of temperature and pressure.