A study and comparison of the modes of diffusion combustion of hydrogen and methane at their outflow from the annular nozzle together with the flow of supplied air from the coaxially located circular nozzle

The article presents qualitative data on the study of the process of diffusion combustion during the outflow of a gas jet from a nozzle apparatus with a certain arrangement of nozzles. The nozzle apparatus is a round nozzle with a straight channel and a coaxially located annular slot. In the experiments, hydrogen or methane was supplied through an annular slot, and the air was supplied through a central circular micro nozzle. The main features of the diffusion combustion of hydrogen and methane during the outflow from the nozzle apparatus are revealed and a qualitative comparison of the processes is carried out. In both cases, at the initial stage, laminar combustion is observed near the nozzle exit and a breakthrough of the flame front occurs with the release of an incombustible mixture of combustible gas and air. At a high flow rate, the flame separates from the nozzle exit. The fundamental difference is that hydrogen exhibits significantly better combustion stabilization characteristics at the nozzle exit.

Hydrogen Tank Rupture in Fire in the Open Atmosphere: Hazard Distance Defined by Fireball

The engineering correlations for assessment of hazard distance defined by a size of fireball after either liquid hydrogen spill combustion or high-pressure hydrogen tank rupture in a fire in the open atmosphere (both for stand-alone and under-vehicle tanks) are presented. The term “fireball size” is used for the maximum horizontal size of a fireball that is different from the term “fireball diameter” applied to spherical or semi-spherical shape fireballs. There are different reasons for a fireball to deviate from a spherical shape, e.g., in case of tank rupture under a vehicle, the non-instantaneous opening of tank walls, etc. Two conservative correlations are built using theoretical analysis, numerical simulations, and experimental data available in the literature. The theoretical model for hydrogen fireball size assumes complete isobaric combustion of hydrogen in air and presumes its hemispherical shape as observed in the experiments and the simulations for tank rupturing at the ground level. The dependence of the fireball size on hydrogen mass and fireball’s diameter-to-height ratio is discussed. The correlation for liquid hydrogen release fireball is based on the experiments by Zabetakis (1964). The correlations can be applied as engineering tools to access hazard distances for scenarios of liquid or gaseous hydrogen storage tank rupture in a fire in the open atmosphere.