Investigation of the Suitability of Viper: Blast CFD Software for Hydrogen and Vapor Cloud Explosions

Many simplified methods for estimating blast loads from a hydrogen or vapor cloud explosion are unable to take into account the accurate geometry of confining spaces, obstacles, or landscape that may significantly interact with the blast wave and influence the strength of blast loads. Computation fluid dynamics (CFD) software Viper::Blast, which was originally developed for the simulation of the detonation of high explosives, is able to quickly and easily model geometry for blast analyses, however its use for vapor cloud explosions and deflagrations is not well established. This paper describes the results of an investigation into the suitability of Viper::Blast for use in modeling hydrogen deflagration and detonation events from various experiments in literature. Detonation events have been captured with a high degree of detail and relatively little uncertainty in inputs, while deflagration events are significantly more complex. An approach is proposed that may allow for a reasonable bounding of uncertainty, potentially leading to an approach to CFD-based Monte Carlo analyses that are able to address a problem’s true geometry while remaining reasonably pragmatic in terms of run-time and computational investment. This will allow further exploration of practical CFD application to inform hydrogen safety in the engineering design, assessment and management of energy mobility and transport systems, infrastructure, and operations.