Influence of Sprinklers on the Thermal Exposure of a Tank Exposed to a Hydrogen Jet Flame
Runefors, Marcus LU
and Mcnamee, Robert
LU
(2022)
Tenth International Seminar on Fire and Explosion Hazards
p.248-257
- Abstract
- A high-pressure tank rupture is a challenging scenario requiring attention in most hydrogen applications. A common cause of rupture is an external fire heating the tank, causing increased internal pressure and/or reduction in the tensile strength of the tank material (with the relevance of each depending on tank material).
Most of the available methods for prevention of such ruptures have been developed, primarily, for buoyancy-driven flames from nearby combustible materials. However, in some applications, a rupture due to heating from a hydrogen jet, emanating from a leak on the system, also needs to be prevented. One method, that has been used in some sites in Sweden, is to use a deluge water spray system to cool the exposed... (More) - A high-pressure tank rupture is a challenging scenario requiring attention in most hydrogen applications. A common cause of rupture is an external fire heating the tank, causing increased internal pressure and/or reduction in the tensile strength of the tank material (with the relevance of each depending on tank material).
Most of the available methods for prevention of such ruptures have been developed, primarily, for buoyancy-driven flames from nearby combustible materials. However, in some applications, a rupture due to heating from a hydrogen jet, emanating from a leak on the system, also needs to be prevented. One method, that has been used in some sites in Sweden, is to use a deluge water spray system to cool the exposed tank. However, this approach has not yet been experimentally validated.
In this paper, a series of experiments are presented to assess the feasibility of such an approach. In the experiments a simulated tank is exposed to a small impinging hydrogen jet (Lf ≈ 1 m) while simultaneously
being cooled by a sprinkler system delivering water densities between 12.2 mm/min and 30.5 mm/min.
The results show that, although the temperature at most of the tank surface becomes significantly lower due to the sprinkler, temperatures can locally remain much higher (ΔT ≈ 600-800K) which might still cause a rupture of a type-IV-tank. It is more likely that a sprinkler system can prevent rupture of a type-I-tank, but this has not been decisively proven. (Less) - Abstract (Swedish)
- A high-pressure tank rupture is a challenging scenario requiring attention in most hydrogen applications. A common cause of rupture is an external fire heating the tank, causing increased internal pressure and/or reduction in the tensile strength of the tank material (with the relevance of each depending on tank material).
Most of the available methods for prevention of such ruptures have been developed, primarily, for buoyancy-driven flames from nearby combustible materials. However, in some applications, a rupture due to heating from a hydrogen jet, emanating from a leak on the system, also needs to be prevented. One method, that has been used in some sites in Sweden, is to use a deluge water spray system to cool the exposed... (More) - A high-pressure tank rupture is a challenging scenario requiring attention in most hydrogen applications. A common cause of rupture is an external fire heating the tank, causing increased internal pressure and/or reduction in the tensile strength of the tank material (with the relevance of each depending on tank material).
Most of the available methods for prevention of such ruptures have been developed, primarily, for buoyancy-driven flames from nearby combustible materials. However, in some applications, a rupture due to heating from a hydrogen jet, emanating from a leak on the system, also needs to be prevented. One method, that has been used in some sites in Sweden, is to use a deluge water spray system to cool the exposed tank. However, this approach has not yet been experimentally validated.
In this paper, a series of experiments are presented to assess the feasibility of such an approach. In the experiments a simulated tank is exposed to a small impinging hydrogen jet (Lf ≈ 1 m) while simultaneously being cooled by a sprinkler system delivering water densities between 12.2 mm/min and 30.5 mm/min.
The results show that, although the temperature at most of the tank surface becomes significantly lower due to the sprinkler, temperatures can locally remain much higher (ΔT ≈ 600-800K) which might still cause a rupture of a type-IV-tank. It is more likely that a sprinkler system can prevent rupture of a type-I-tank, but this has not been decisively proven. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/1b5520e3-fc66-4d13-a8aa-cf7e4a462ac9
- author
- Runefors, Marcus
LU
and Mcnamee, Robert
LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2022-05-27
- type
- Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Tank rupture, Jet fires, Plate-thermometers, Thermal exposure, Water film
- host publication
- Proceedings of the Tenth International Seminar on Fire and Explosion Hazards
- pages
- 248 - 257
- publisher
- University of South-Eastern Norway
- conference name
- Tenth International Seminar on Fire and Explosion Hazards
- conference location
- Oslo, Norway
- conference dates
- 2022-05-22 - 2022-05-27
- ISBN
- 978-82-7206-721-1
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 1b5520e3-fc66-4d13-a8aa-cf7e4a462ac9
- alternative location
- https://hdl.handle.net/11250/3030345
- date added to LUP
- 2023-03-29 11:07:47
- date last changed
- 2023-04-05 11:45:02
@inproceedings{1b5520e3-fc66-4d13-a8aa-cf7e4a462ac9,
abstract = {{A high-pressure tank rupture is a challenging scenario requiring attention in most hydrogen applications. A common cause of rupture is an external fire heating the tank, causing increased internal pressure and/or reduction in the tensile strength of the tank material (with the relevance of each depending on tank material).<br/><br/>Most of the available methods for prevention of such ruptures have been developed, primarily, for buoyancy-driven flames from nearby combustible materials. However, in some applications, a rupture due to heating from a hydrogen jet, emanating from a leak on the system, also needs to be prevented. One method, that has been used in some sites in Sweden, is to use a deluge water spray system to cool the exposed tank. However, this approach has not yet been experimentally validated. <br/><br/>In this paper, a series of experiments are presented to assess the feasibility of such an approach. In the experiments a simulated tank is exposed to a small impinging hydrogen jet (Lf ≈ 1 m) while simultaneously<br/>being cooled by a sprinkler system delivering water densities between 12.2 mm/min and 30.5 mm/min. <br/><br/>The results show that, although the temperature at most of the tank surface becomes significantly lower due to the sprinkler, temperatures can locally remain much higher (ΔT ≈ 600-800K) which might still cause a rupture of a type-IV-tank. It is more likely that a sprinkler system can prevent rupture of a type-I-tank, but this has not been decisively proven.}},
author = {{Runefors, Marcus and Mcnamee, Robert}},
booktitle = {{Proceedings of the Tenth International Seminar on Fire and Explosion Hazards}},
isbn = {{978-82-7206-721-1}},
keywords = {{Tank rupture; Jet fires; Plate-thermometers; Thermal exposure; Water film}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{05}},
pages = {{248--257}},
publisher = {{University of South-Eastern Norway}},
title = {{Influence of Sprinklers on the Thermal Exposure of a Tank Exposed to a Hydrogen Jet Flame}},
url = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/141747742/Runefors_et_al_Sprinkler_cooling_of_a_tank_exposed_to_a_hydrogen_jet.pdf}},
year = {{2022}},
}