Propensity for H2 flame wrinkling, acceleration and transition to detonation from side venting, rear venting and interaction with expansion waves

提出的研究解决了能源部门在利用氢燃料作为能源载体的快速转变。能源行业的这一根本性转变为壳牌和加拿大在安全生产和处理清洁氢及相关技术方面提供了独特的机会。该项目解决了在具有半封闭空间和通风能力的典型分配和储存设施中，在燃料泄漏导致可燃云形成的情况下氢气的爆炸安全性。我们研究了部分通风对火焰动力学的影响，以及可能导致压力波放大和过渡到爆轰的快速火焰加速的潜力。这项研究的需要是由于缺乏适当的安全指导方针和规范和标准，以防止火焰加速和爆轰过渡。这种事故场景在过去的大规模试验和最近的行业事故中都有记录，例如2019年在挪威的一个氢燃料站发生的事故。本研究的目的是阐明在存在部分通风的情况下导致火焰加速的机制，并为装置的安全设计提供定量标准。为了获得这些现象的预测能力，还将开发一个计算模型。一套不同的实验配置和详细的流动可视化将允许确定火焰加速的独特物理机制，这是存在膨胀波的氢-空气混合物所特有的。这些实验将辅以高性能的直接数值模拟。同时，实验和模拟将用于生成工程型数值模型的比例定律和验证基准。这些解决氢气爆炸安全的设计工具的产生对实践工程师来说是必不可少的。目前的研究还将有助于在涉及氢气作为能源载体的新兴能源部门活动中培训高素质人员。

The proposed research addresses the rapid shift of the energy sector in utilizing hydrogen fuel as an energy carrier. This fundamental transformation of the energy sector provides unique opportunities for Shell and Canada in the safe production and handling of clean hydrogen and associated technologies. The project addresses the explosion safety of hydrogen gas in scenarios of fuel leaks leading to combustible cloud formation in typical distribution and storage facilities with semi-enclosed spaces and venting capabilities. We study the effect of partial venting on the flame dynamics and the potential for rapid flame acceleration potentially leading to pressure wave amplification and transition to detonation. The need for this research is due to the absence of appropriate safety guidelines and the codes and standards that are required to prevent the flame acceleration and detonation transition. Such accident scenarios have been anecdotally documented in past large-scale trials and recent accidents in the industry, such as having occurred in 2019 at a hydrogen fueling station in Norway. The objective of the present research is to clarify the mechanisms that lead to flame acceleration in the presence of partial venting and to provide quantitative criteria for safe design of installation. A computational model will also be developed in order to obtain predictive capability of these phenomena. A suite of different experimental configurations with detailed flow visualization will permit to determine the unique physical mechanisms of flame acceleration that are peculiar to hydrogen-air mixtures in the presence of expansion waves. These experiments will be complemented by high-performance direct numerical simulations. Together, the experiments and simulations will be used generate scaling laws and validation bechmarks for engineering-type numerical models. The generation of these design tools addressing the explosion safety of hydrogen will be essential to the practicing engineer. The present research will also contribute to the training of highly-qualified personnel in the emerging energy sector activities involving hydrogen gas as energy carrier.