Numerical Investigation on the Liquid Hydrogen Leakage and Protection Strategy

Abstract

One of China’s ambitious hydrogen strategies over the past few years has been to promote fuel cells. A number of hydrogen refueling stations (HRSs) are currently being built in China to refuel hydrogen-powered automobiles. In this context, it is crucial to assess the dangers of hydrogen leaking in HRSs. The present work simulated the liquid hydrogen (LH2) leakage with the goal of undertaking an extensive consequence evaluation of the LH2 leakage on an LH2 refueling station (LHRS). Furthermore, the utilization of an air curtain to prevent the diffusion of the LH2 leakage is proposed and the defending effect is studied accordingly. The results reveal that the Richardson number effectively explained the variation of plume morphology. Furthermore, different facilities have great influence on the gas cloud diffusion trajectory with the consideration of different leakage directions. The air curtain shows satisfactory prevention of the diffusion of the hydrogen plume. Studies show that with the increase in air volume (equivalent to wind speed) and the narrowing of the air curtain width (other factors remain unchanged), the maximum flammable distance of hydrogen was shortened.