Session 22. Oral Presentation for: Comparing hybrid method simulations to hydrogen dispersion and explosion tests

Abstract

Presented on Wednesday 22 May: Session 22

With an increase in the production and storage of hydrogen, it is likely that an increased number of explosions in which hydrogen plays a central role will occur unless a step change increase in safety is seen. Modelling releases of hydrogen and explosions arising from the delayed ignition of premixed gas clouds of hydrogen is carried out today using analytical and numerical approaches and most recently, using a hybrid methodology with the commercially available software exploCFD. Hybrid simulation methodology relies on the calculation of an analytically derived source term which is then used as an input for a 2D numerical simulation. In this paper we further our earlier validation work and test the ability of the hybrid methodology to predict flammable gas dispersion and subsequent explosions arising from hydrogen releases. Hydrogen has some particularly unique properties; it is the lightest of fuels – meaning masses involved are very small, and it has the highest laminar burning velocity – an order of magnitude greater than most hydrocarbons. The hybrid methodology is compared against previously documented 3D corner tests and dispersion tests. Excellent agreement between overpressure prediction and the reported experimental data for explosion against equivalence ratio is observed. The data from the hydrogen jet release simulations also compare extremely well to the previously reported experimental data. The results show that it is difficult to justify the use of far more laborious, time and cost-intensive purely numerical methods, or the use of largely uncertain more crude methods still widely used today.

To access the Oral Presentation click the link on the right. To read the full paper click here