Functional Resonance Analysis for Emerging Risks in Hydrogen Handling: An Analysis of an Experimental Test

Hydrogen is on the rise as a substitute for fossil fuel in the energy sector. While this substitution does not happen dramatically, the steady increase in hydrogen related research might be a good indicator of such desire. As it stands, there are issues regarding its safe handling and use; consequently, the health and safety subsectors observe the situation conspicuously. As we yet to know the behavior of hydrogen in critical situations, uncertainties make these tasks prone to emerging risks. Thus, hydrogen safety falls under emerging risk studies. Conventional perspective on safety, especially regarding the flammable material, focuses on calculating the hypothetical risks of failures in system. Resilience Engineering has another perspective as it focuses on normal operations, offering new perspectives to tackle emerging risks from a new angle. Born from the heart of Resilience Engineering, the Functional Resonance Analysis Method (FRAM) captures sociotechnical systems’ essence in a tangible way. In this study, FRAM has been used to model a series of experiments done on hydrogen management to analyze its jet fire. FRAM is used to test whether the method could be suitable to model a system in which emerging risks are present. It is the conclusion of this study that FRAM seems promising in raising risk awareness, especially when available data is limited.