Impact of Fire and Explosion Research on Industrial Practices and Government Policy
Impact of Fire and Explosion Research on Industrial Practices and Government Policy
Using CFD Modelling for Hydrogen Safety Measures
How do you safely use a gas with a wide flammability range like hydrogen? Professor Jennifer Wen’s research on fire and explosion modelling through computational fluid dynamics (CFD) has led to the development of mitigating measures to improve safety in hydrogen energy applications across the built environment, energy, and transport sectors.
Professor Wen’s research has also influenced the setting of international standards and informed government policies on clean growth and on the safety of hydrogen power stations.
The challenge
Hydrogen is a zero-emissions fuel that is seen as a viable alternative to fossil fuels and will play a key role in national and international policies on greenhouse gas reduction. Whilst hydrogen is environmentally more sound than other fuels, it has a wider flammability range, potential fire and explosions could cause damage to infrastructure, injury and death.
Professor Wen has devised models that address physical effects and consequence analysis for a range of accidental release scenarios, which are critical to the safe design and operation of facilities involving flammable gases/liquids.
Our approach
Professor Wen leads Warwick FIRE, a multi-disciplinary research laboratory for fundamental and applied research in fire, explosions and other safety-related reactive and non-reactive flows. Professor Wen and colleagues have:
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Devised an efficient CFD modelling approach for gas dispersion in complex geometries to save computational costs.
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Devised a new engineering model (EM) for calculating peak overpressures in vented explosions.
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Improved key tools within the OpenFOAM® open source CFD code, including HyFOAM for modelling large-scale explosions and FireFOAM for fire simulations.
Our impact
Several organisations have benefitted from Professor Wen’s cutting-edge research, including FM Global, a US-based international insurance company that used the FireFOAM models to enhance practical fire protection measures, significantly reducing the number of costly large-scale fire tests which cost $100,000 each.
In addition, the CFD predictions of potential accident releases from cryogenic tanks enabled Air Liquide S.A., a French industrial gases supplier to establish internal rules about retention pits, their pros and cons as well as their recommended sizes according to the dimensions of the cryogenic liquid hydrogen tanks.
Professor Wen’s EM and CFD techniques have informed government policies on the planning and implementation of hydrogen energy applications, including the safe design of a hydrogen power station in Guangdong province, China and in modelling of hydrogen explosions in residential settings, as part of the UK government’s Hy4Heat programme.