- Author
-
Sunderland, P. B.
- Title
- Fire Safety Risks Associated With Leaks in Hydrogen Systems.
- Coporate
- Maryland Univ., College Park
- Report
-
NIST GCR 09-927,
December 2009,
- Keywords
-
hydrogen
|
fire safety
|
fire risks
|
leakage
|
fire hazards
|
ignition
|
experiments
|
combustion
|
flame extinguishment
|
blowoff
|
plumbing
|
degradation
|
diffusion flames
|
autoignition
|
computational fluid dynamics
- Identifiers
- hazard reduction in hydrogen systems; measure limits of flaming for hydrogen; measure flame quenching limits of hydrogen leaks; plumbing components; material degradation; spontaneous ignition; CFD analyses of the flames
- Abstract
- Motivation: Hydrogen presents several unusual fire hazards, including high leak propensity, ease of ignition, and invisible flames. This research concerns experiments, analysis, and computations to identify the hazards of leaks in hydrogen systems that could result in combustion. The work seeks to identify the types of hydrogen leaks that can support flames. A small leak in a hydrogen system could ignite easily, support a flame that is difficult to detect, and lead to a catastrophic failure. Objectives: This research seeks an improved understanding of hydrogen fire safety that will lead to hazard reduction in hydrogen systems. Specific objectives include: 1. Measure limits of flaming (at ignition, quenching and blowoff) for hydrogen issuing from circular and slot burners of various sizes. 2. Measure flame quenching limits of hydrogen leaks in plumbing components. 3. Examine material degradation arising from an impinging hydrogen diffusion flame. 4. Prepare analytical and models of spontaneous ignition. 5. Perform CFD analyses of the flames to complement the experiments, yield additional physical insight, and allow the consideration of untested conditions.