NUMERICAL STUDY ON EXPLOSION HAZARDS OF HYDROGEN CARS IN A GARAGE

The number of hydrogen vehicles is surging all over the world, yet explosion hazards, particularly during the repairing and maintenance of those vehicles in garages, are not properly addressed. Explosion hazards of hydrogen vehicles in a garage were studied preliminarily by using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). The software Flame Acceleration Simulator (FLACS) was used. A typical double car garage in Hong Kong with a rolling shutter as its entrance was considered in the simulation. Dispersion of hydrogen from the leakage source with an ignition at a higher position was studied. CFD simulation was carried out on a case with the rolling shutter completely closed and the leaked hydrogen was ignited at 300 s. Another simulation was conducted with a gap height of 0.3 m under the rolling shutter. Hydrogen was also ignited at 300 s after the leakage. Predicted results on explosion pressure and temperature illustrated that appropriate protection measures should be provided to ensure the safety of garages for hydrogen vehicles.