Effects of leakage location and ventilation condition on hydrogen leakage during shipping of fuel cell vehicles

Abstract

In the process of shipping hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, due to the special characteristics of the design and construction of the pure car truck carrier (PCTC) and its working environment, once hydrogen leakage occurs, it is easy to cause safety accidents, resulting in economic losses and human casualties. The current ventilation regulations are only for the shipping of vehicles with internal combustion engines and there are no clear regulations on the ventilation requirements for PCTCs during the shipping of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. First, a PCTC and a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle were selected for the study and the corresponding geometries were modeled. For the scenario of hydrogen leakage in the cabin of the ship, the amount of hydrogen leakage is calculated according to the leakage model. Then, using Fluent software, the diffusion process of hydrogen between the two vehicles is simulated and the variation pattern of hydrogen concentration is concluded. Finally, simulations are carried out under different leakage locations and ventilation conditions to analyze the influencing factors of hydrogen diffusion distribution in the cabin of the ship. The simulation results identify the optimum location for the hydrogen sensors and provide a reference for the setting of safety measures and development of regulations on ventilation requirements when shipping hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.