CFD-modelling of large-scale LH2 release and explosion experiments

As a part of zero emission ambitions within the maritime, aviation and elsewhere, liquid hydrogen (LH2) will increasingly be used as an energy carrier and fuel in the coming years. It is therefore important to understand safety aspects of LH2, including gas dispersion and explosion properties. In the process of building the world's first ferry using LH2 as fuel the Norwegian Public Roads Administration commissioned large-scale LH2 release tests to study dispersion and explosion properties relevant for the design and approval processes. Experiments with LH2 releases both indoor and outdoor were performed. In this article these experiments are described and compared to simulations with the CFD-model FLACS. The aim of the modelling is both to better understand the experiments performed, and to demonstrate that important phenomena and physics related to LH2 safety as-sessments for approval processes can be simulated and predicted with confidence.