Cavity effects on spontaneous ignition of pressurized hydrogen jets

Abstract

The release of pressurized hydrogen jets can lead to spontaneous ignition, which poses a major challenge to the safe utilization of hydrogen energy. Previous studies have primarily focused on the spontaneous ignition of pressurized hydrogen released into tubes. However, in real industrial scenarios, pressurized hydrogen is usually released into the atmosphere or a complex equipment environment. Therefore, the effect of obstacles on spontaneous ignition needs to be considered. In this study, the spontaneous ignition of sudden releases of pressurized hydrogen entering various cavity shapes was modeled using the standard k-ω turbulence model, the eddy dissipation concept (EDC) model and a detailed 21-step chemistry model. The effects of the cavities on the jet flow fields and the spontaneous ignition were analyzed for various cavity shapes and release pressures. For the pressures considered in this study, the cylindrical cavity did not lead to ignition. The highest hydrogen jet temperature occurred in the contact region due to the shock wave reflection, after which spontaneous ignition could not occur due to the flow divergence. The pressurized hydrogen entering hemispherical and conical cavities enhanced the hydrogen-air mixing which led to combustible regions and the formation of multidimensional shock waves, which significantly increased the spontaneous ignition probability. The cavities created a high-temperature region inside the cavity that experienced ignition but the flames did not spread out of the cavity. The conical cavity produced lower flame temperatures than the hemispherical cavity but prolonged the flame lifetime. Higher initial hydrogen release pressures resulted in more violent multidimensional shock wave interactions and higher contact surface temperatures, which lead to earlier ignition times but with little impact on the initial location of the spontaneous ignition. The results of this study provide a scientific foundation for hydrogen safety codes, safe equipment designs and the development of industry codes and standards.