Numerical Study of Hydrogen Explosions in a Vehicle Refill Environment

Numerical simulations have been carried out for pressurised hydrogen release through a nozzle in a simulated vehicle refilling environment of an experiment carried out in a joint industry project by Shell, bp, Exxon and the UK HSE, Shirvill[1]. The computational domain mimics the experimental set up for a vertical downwards release in a vehicle refuelling environment. Due to lack of detailed data on pressure decay in the storage cylinder following the release, a simple analytical model has also been developed to provide the transient pressure conditions at nozzle exit. The modelling is carried out using the traditional Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) approach based on Reynolds averaged Navier Stokes equations. The Pseudo diameter approach is used to bypass the shock-laden flow structure in the immediate vicinity of the nozzle. For combustion, the Turbulent Flame Closure (TFC) model is used while the shear stress transport (SST) model is used for turbulence