Temporal and spatial evolution of hydrogen leakage and diffusion from tube fittings on fuel cell vehicles under the effect of ambient wind

Yahao Shen, Hong Lv, Tao Zheng, Yi Liu, Wei Zhou and Cunman Zhang

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2023, vol. 185, issue C

Abstract: Hydrogen has become a competitive energy carrier owing to its high fuel value, cleanliness, and renewability. Fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) are crucial in achieving global carbon neutrality in the transportation sector. This study used Flame Acceleration Simulator (FLACS) software to model hydrogen leaks and diffusion from tube fittings of hydrogen systems with the numerical model validated by experimental data. The effect of wind direction on hydrogen leakage and diffusion in the chassis was investigated. Hydrogen leakage rates from the tube fittings under various pressures, tightening angles, and torques were determined; a release rate of 0.6 NL/min is considered a typical value for hydrogen leakage from the tube fittings of a 1.2-MPa hydrogen supply line. The results demonstrate that in windless conditions, the high concentration region with 1–2% vol. was located around the group of hydrogen storage tanks and that there was no flammable region in the entire chassis area. Wind accelerated hydrogen diffusion and reduced the extension range of the hydrogen envelope by 1–2% vol. Compared with longitudinal wind conditions, a crosswind can more effectively reduce the hydrogen concentration. Cutting off the hydrogen supply resulted in rapid contraction of the hydrogen envelope of 1–2% vol. within 5 s. These results have implications for installation of hydrogen sensors in the chassis of FCVs and the location of the blower for forced ventilation by first responders in the event of hydrogen leakage.

Keywords: Hydrogen safety; Fuel cell vehicle; Computational fluid dynamics; FLACS; Tube fittings; Hydrogen leakage and diffusion; Wind direction (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032123004537
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:rensus:v:185:y:2023:i:c:s1364032123004537

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/600126/bibliographic
http://www.elsevier. ... 600126/bibliographic

DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2023.113596

Access Statistics for this article

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews is currently edited by L. Kazmerski

More articles in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().