Consequence assessment of high-pressure hydrogen storage tank rupture during fire test

Abstract

This paper deals with the consequences assessment associated with the accidental catastrophic explosion in the case of high-pressure tank (165 L, 35 MPa) rupture during fire test. Two catastrophic explosion accidents caused by the thermally activated pressure relief device (TPRD) failure in activating in time were reported. The detailed explosion processes were recorded and analyzed, providing a valuable study case for improving the hazard identification. A method was developed for calculating the explosion energy stored in high-pressure hydrogen tank based on the real-gas state equation of the hydrogen. Three kinds of damage patterns were analyzed synthetically considering the intensity of the blast wave, thermal radiation, and flying fragments. It is found that for the overpressure of blast wave, the slight injury for human and minor damage for equipment are expected in the radius range of within 14.0 m and 65.4 m, respectively. Similarly, the safe radius distances of thermal radiation for human and equipment are 140 m and 52.1 m. The flying distance of the destructed tank increases with the increment of projection angle. The theoretical results are in good agreement with the data collected from the accidents. The proposed method provides a theoretical support for taking enough safety measures in advance to prevent dangerous consequences of high-pressure storage hydrogen tank during fire test.