A Hydrogen Ignition Mechanism for Explosions in Nuclear Facility Piping Systems

Abstract

Hydrogen explosions may occur simultaneously with fluid transients' accidents in nuclear facilities, and a theoretical mechanism to relate fluid transients to hydrogen deflagrations and explosions is presented herein. Hydrogen and oxygen generation due to the radiolysis of water is a recognized hazard in piping systems used in the nuclear industry, where the accumulation of hydrogen and oxygen at high points in the piping system is expected, and explosive conditions may occur. Pipe ruptures in nuclear reactor cooling systems were attributed to hydrogen explosions inside pipelines, i.e., Hamaoka, Nuclear Power Station in Japan, and Brunsbuettel in Germany (Fig. 1Fig. 1Hydrogen explosion damage in nuclear facilities Antaki, et al. [9,10–12] (ASME, Task Group on Impulsively Loaded Vessels, 2009, Bob Nickell)). Prior to these accidents, an ignition source for hydrogen was not clearly demonstrated, but these accidents demonstrated that a mechanism was, in fact, available to initiate combustion and explosion. A new theory to identify an ignition source and explosion cause is presented here, and further research is recommended to fully understand this explosion mechanism. In fact, this explosion mechanism may be pertinent to explosions in major nuclear accidents, and a similar explosion mechanism is also possible in oil pipelines during off-shore drilling.