Numerical Studies of Dispersion and Flammable Volume of Hydrogen in Enclosures

Hydrogen dispersion in an enclosure is numerically studied using simple analytical solutions and a large-eddy-simulation based CFD code. In simple calculations, the interface height and temperature rise of the upper layer are obtained based on mass and energy conservation and the centreline hydrogen volume fraction is derived from similarity solutions of buoyant jets. The calculated centreline hydrogen volume fraction using the two methods agree with each other; however, discrepancies are found for the calculated total flammable volume as a result of the inability of simple calculations in taking into account local mixing and diffusion. The CFD model, in contrast, is found to be capable of correctly reproducing the diffusion and stratification phenomena during the mixing stage.