Modelling of vented hydrogen deflagrations in an ISO container using PDRFoam

This study evaluates an open-source explosion solver, PDRFoam, which is based on the Porosity/Distributed Resistance (PDR) approach. In this approach, only large-scale effects are numerically resolved, and small-scale effects are modelled semi-analytically—making explosion modelling at large scales...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inInternational journal of hydrogen energy Vol. 59; pp. 251 - 262
Main Authors Zambare, Anand, Narasimhamurthy, Vagesh D., Skjold, Trygve, Hisken, Helene
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Elsevier Ltd 15.03.2024
Subjects
CFD
Flame acceleration
Hydrogen safety
HySEA
Porosity/Distributed Resistance
CFD
HySEA
Hydrogen safety
Flame acceleration
Porosity/Distributed Resistance
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Summary:This study evaluates an open-source explosion solver, PDRFoam, which is based on the Porosity/Distributed Resistance (PDR) approach. In this approach, only large-scale effects are numerically resolved, and small-scale effects are modelled semi-analytically—making explosion modelling at large scales economical. We evaluate the PDRFoam against experiments from the Hydrogen Safety in Energy Applications (HySEA) project. We consider different types of obstacles and different concentrations of hydrogen for the evaluation. PDRFoam predicts quantities like maximum overpressure, time trace of overpressure, impulse, and average rate of pressure rise—these are compared with experimental observations. We examine the external domain influence and sensitivity of the results to the different grid sizes. In general, PDRFoam gives conservative results, and it significantly overpredicts overpressure for 24% hydrogen concentration. It can model various stages of flame development, including flame folding and wrinkling; thus can become an open-source alternative in explosion modelling studies. •Evaluation of an open source CFD solver PDRFoam for modelling hydrogen explosions.•Predictions are compared to venting-through-the-doors experiments from HySEA.•Overpressure, mean pressure rise rate, impulse and flame arrival time are reported.•Sensitivity of the results to the different numerical mesh and domain are studied.•Following model evaluation protocol, predictions are in agreement with experiments.
ISSN:0360-3199
1879-3487
DOI:10.1016/j.ijhydene.2024.01.357