Hydrogen-natural gas blends are being considered as an alternative heating source to traditional hydrocarbons. Understanding how these blends behave in indoor and residential environments in the event of a release is key to ensuring that hydrogen blends can be used safely.
Factors impacting the behaviour of an indoor release of a hydrogen-natural gas blend include:
- gas material properties
- leak diameter and pressure
- temperature of the gas and the room
- size of the room
- amount and location of ventilation in the room
Using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to Determine Hydrogen-Natural Gas Blend Dispersion Indoors
Using computational fluid dynamics (CFD), C-FER Technologies simulates the flow of hydrogen-natural gas blends through specified openings that represent leaks from pipes or appliances. The 3-dimensional numerical simulations characterize the dispersion behaviour of hydrogen and natural gas in a room, determining when and where the gas concentration is within the flammability limits as it mixes with the room air.
Sensitivity scenarios look at the effect of hydrogen content of the blend, leak size, leak source pressure, room size and forced ventilation on the release and dispersion behaviour.
The results of these simulations characterize the dispersion behaviour of a gas blend release under various indoor service conditions. This information can be used to:
- Evaluate the safety of using hydrogen-blends indoors in various appliances,
- Determine how additional ventilation systems can be used to disperse gas releases
- Specify placement of gas detectors to ensure rapid, reliable detection of releases
