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Advances in Hydrogen Safety

A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "A5: Hydrogen Energy".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2021) | Viewed by 19725

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Nuclear Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Interests: nuclear reactors; nuclear energy; nuclear safety; nuclear engineering; nuclear; CHF; two-phase boiling heat transfer; severe accident; hydrogen safety

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Concern for global warming and climate change has shifted the philosophy of energy production from economic deployment to clean and sustainable utilization. In this regard, hydrogen is deemed as one of strong clean energy candidates that can eliminate CO2 emission and other harmful byproducts. Numerous technical developments are underway to produce, store, and transport hydrogen to compete with conventional energy resources such as coal, natural gas, solar, wind, and nuclear energy.

Hydrogen is an apparently clean and attractive source of energy as long as its safety concerns can be eliminated. Unlike development of hydrogen energy techniques, however, the potential safety issues of hydrogen have not been addressed in sufficient detail. Hydrogen is very sensitive and explosive under a wide range of thermodynamic and structural conditions, under which various hydrogen combustion modes such as deflagration, deflagration-to-detonation, and detonation may develop. This potential threat is expected to hinder its practical employment to the public domain if the foregoing issues are not sufficiently resolved.

This Special Issue, therefore, seeks to contribute to resolving the safety issues associated with hydrogen energy. Suggested topics may include research on various aspects of hydrogen combustion risk, such as flammability limit, peak flame temperature, and prediction of combustion modes in a local and global system domain. We invite any studies relevant to the safety of hydrogen in terms of regulatory policy, technical assessment, analytical modeling, as well as innovative concepts to improve the safety in utilizing hydrogen energy.

Prof. Dr. Sung Joong Kim
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • Prediction and modeling of lower and upper flammability limit
  • Experimental and numerical study on hydrogen combustion modes: deflagration, deflagration-to-detonation (DDT), detonation
  • Modeling and simulation of laminar and turbulent flame propagation
  • Safety and economic production of hydrogen using electrochemical and thermochemical processes
  • Regulatory frame making to improve the safety culture on hydrogen applications
  • Review and issue reports on hydrogen safety in various disciplines.

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 7169 KiB  
Article
Risk Assessment Method Combining Independent Protection Layers (IPL) of Layer of Protection Analysis (LOPA) and RISKCURVES Software: Case Study of Hydrogen Refueling Stations in Urban Areas
by Byoungjik Park, Yangkyun Kim, Kwanwoo Lee, Shinwon Paik and Chankyu Kang
Energies 2021, 14(13), 4043; https://doi.org/10.3390/en14134043 - 5 Jul 2021
Cited by 19 | Viewed by 3311
Abstract
The commercialization of eco-friendly hydrogen vehicles has elicited attempts to expand hydrogen refueling stations in urban areas; however, safety measures to reduce the risk of jet fires have not been established. The RISKCURVES software was used to evaluate the individual and societal risks [...] Read more.
The commercialization of eco-friendly hydrogen vehicles has elicited attempts to expand hydrogen refueling stations in urban areas; however, safety measures to reduce the risk of jet fires have not been established. The RISKCURVES software was used to evaluate the individual and societal risks of hydrogen refueling stations in urban areas, and the F–N (Frequency–Number of fatalities) curve was used to compare whether the safety measures satisfied international standards. From the results of the analysis, it was found that there is a risk of explosion in the expansion of hydrogen refueling stations in urban areas, and safety measures should be considered. To lower the risk of hydrogen refueling stations, this study applied the passive and active independent protection layers (IPLs) of LOPA (Layer of Protection Analysis) and confirmed that these measures significantly reduced societal risk as well as individual risk and met international standards. In particular, such measures could effectively reduce the impact of jet fire in dispensers and tube trailers that had a high risk. Measures employing both IPL types were efficient in meeting international standard criteria; however, passive IPLs were found to have a greater risk reduction effect than active IPLs. The combination of RISKCURVES and LOPA is an appropriate risk assessment method that can reduce work time and mitigate risks through protective measures compared to existing risk assessment methods. This method can be applied to risk assessment and risk mitigation not only for hydrogen facilities, but also for hazardous materials with high fire or explosion risk. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Hydrogen Safety)
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18 pages, 9832 KiB  
Article
Numerical Analysis for Hydrogen Flame Acceleration during a Severe Accident in the APR1400 Containment Using a Multi-Dimensional Hydrogen Analysis System
by Hyung Seok Kang, Jongtae Kim, Seong Wan Hong and Sang Baik Kim
Energies 2020, 13(22), 6151; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13226151 - 23 Nov 2020
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2326
Abstract
Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) established a multi-dimensional hydrogen analysis system to evaluate hydrogen release, distribution, and combustion in the containment of a Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), using MAAP, GASFLOW, and COM3D. In particular, KAERI developed an analysis methodology for a hydrogen [...] Read more.
Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) established a multi-dimensional hydrogen analysis system to evaluate hydrogen release, distribution, and combustion in the containment of a Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), using MAAP, GASFLOW, and COM3D. In particular, KAERI developed an analysis methodology for a hydrogen flame acceleration, on the basis of the COM3D validation results against measured data of the hydrogen combustion tests in the ENACCEF and THAI facilities. The proposed analysis methodology accurately predicted the peak overpressure with an error range of approximately ±10%, using the Kawanabe model used for a turbulent flame speed in the COM3D. KAERI performed a hydrogen flame acceleration analysis using the multi-dimensional hydrogen analysis system for a severe accident initiated by a station blackout (SBO), under the assumption of 100% metal–water reaction in the Reactor Pressure Vessel (RPV), to evaluate an overpressure buildup in the containment of the Advanced Power Reactor 1400 MWe (APR1400). The magnitude of the overpressure buildup in the APR1400 containment might be used as a criterion to judge whether the containment integrity is maintained or not, when the hydrogen combustion occurs during a severe accident. The COM3D calculation results using the established analysis methodology showed that the calculated peak pressure in the containment was lower than the fracture pressure of the APR1400 containment. This calculation result might have resulted from a large air volume of the containment, a reduced hydrogen concentration owing to passive auto-catalytic recombiners installed in the containment during the hydrogen release from the RPV, and a lot of stem presence during the hydrogen combustion period in the containment. Therefore, we found that the current design of the APR1400 containment maintained its integrity when the flame acceleration occurred during the severe accident initiated by the SBO accident. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Hydrogen Safety)
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21 pages, 6375 KiB  
Article
MELCOR Analysis of a SPARC Experiment for Spray-PAR Interaction during a Hydrogen Release
by Hyoung Tae Kim and Jongtae Kim
Energies 2020, 13(21), 5696; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13215696 - 30 Oct 2020
Viewed by 2192
Abstract
A series of experiments were performed in the SPARC (spray-aerosol-recombiner-combustion) test facility to simulate a hydrogen mitigation system with the actuation of a PAR (passive auto-catalytic re-combiner) and spray system. In this study, the SPARC-SPRAY-PAR (SSP1) experiment is chosen to benchmark the MELCOR [...] Read more.
A series of experiments were performed in the SPARC (spray-aerosol-recombiner-combustion) test facility to simulate a hydrogen mitigation system with the actuation of a PAR (passive auto-catalytic re-combiner) and spray system. In this study, the SPARC-SPRAY-PAR (SSP1) experiment is chosen to benchmark the MELCOR (a lumped-parameter code for severe accident analysis) predictions against test data. For this purpose, firstly we prepared the base input model of the SPARC test vessel, and tested it by a simple verification problem with well-defined boundary conditions. The implementation of a currently used PAR correlation in MELCOR is shown to be appropriate for the simulation of a PAR actuation experiment. In an SSP1 experiment, the PAR is reacting with hydrogen, and the spray actuation starts as soon as hydrogen injection is complete. The MELCOR simulation well predicts the pressure behavior and the gas flow affected by operating both a PAR and spray system. However, the local hydrogen concentration measurement near the inlet nozzle is much higher than the volume average-value by MELCOR, since high jet flow from the nozzle is dispersed in the corresponding cell volume. The experimental reproduction of the phenomena we expect, or, conversely, the identification of phenomena we do not understand, will continue to support the verification of analytical models using experimental data and to analyze the impact of spray on PAR operations in severe accident conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Hydrogen Safety)
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21 pages, 7318 KiB  
Article
Experimental Study on a Hydrogen Stratification Induced by PARs Installed in a Containment
by Jongtae Kim, Seongho Hong, Ki Han Park, Jin Heok Kim and Jeong Yun Oh
Energies 2020, 13(21), 5552; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13215552 - 23 Oct 2020
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2367
Abstract
Hydrogen can be produced in undesired ways such as a high temperature metal oxidation during an accident. In this case, the hydrogen must be carefully managed. A hydrogen mitigation system (HMS) should be installed to protect a containment of a nuclear power plant [...] Read more.
Hydrogen can be produced in undesired ways such as a high temperature metal oxidation during an accident. In this case, the hydrogen must be carefully managed. A hydrogen mitigation system (HMS) should be installed to protect a containment of a nuclear power plant (NPP) from hazards of hydrogen produced by an oxidation of the fuel cladding during a severe accident in an NPP. Among hydrogen removal devices, passive auto-catalytic recombiners (PARs) are currently applied to many NPPs because of passive characteristics, such as not requiring a power supply nor an operators’ manipulations. However, they offer several disadvantages, resulting in issues related to hydrogen control by PARs. One of the issues is a hydrogen stratification in which hydrogen is not well-mixed in a compartment due to the high temperature exhaust gas of PARs and accumulation in the lower part. Therefore, experimental simulation on hydrogen stratification phenomenon by PARs is required. When the hydrogen stratification by PARs is observed in the experiment, the verification and improvement of a PAR analysis model using the experimental results can be performed, and the hydrogen removal characteristics by PARs installed in an NPP can be evaluated using the improved PAR model. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Hydrogen Safety)
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Review

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44 pages, 12377 KiB  
Review
Recent Progress in Hydrogen Flammability Prediction for the Safe Energy Systems
by Joongoo Jeon and Sung Joong Kim
Energies 2020, 13(23), 6263; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13236263 - 27 Nov 2020
Cited by 35 | Viewed by 8133
Abstract
Many countries consider hydrogen as a promising energy source to resolve the energy challenges over the global climate change. However, the potential of hydrogen explosions remains a technical issue to embrace hydrogen as an alternate solution since the Hindenburg disaster occurred in 1937. [...] Read more.
Many countries consider hydrogen as a promising energy source to resolve the energy challenges over the global climate change. However, the potential of hydrogen explosions remains a technical issue to embrace hydrogen as an alternate solution since the Hindenburg disaster occurred in 1937. To ascertain safe hydrogen energy systems including production, storage, and transportation, securing the knowledge concerning hydrogen flammability is essential. In this paper, we addressed a comprehensive review of the studies related to predicting hydrogen flammability by dividing them into three types: experimental, numerical, and analytical. While the earlier experimental studies had focused only on measuring limit concentration, recent studies clarified the extinction mechanism of a hydrogen flame. In numerical studies, the continued advances in computer performance enabled even multi-dimensional stretched flame analysis following one-dimensional planar flame analysis. The different extinction mechanisms depending on the Lewis number of each fuel type could be observed by these advanced simulations. Finally, historical attempts to predict the limit concentration by analytical modeling of flammability characteristics were discussed. Developing an accurate model to predict the flammability limit of various hydrogen mixtures is our remaining issue. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Hydrogen Safety)
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