Research on fence protection for liquid hydrogen leakage in the storage tank area

Abstract

Hydrogen energy is an important carrier for energy terminals to achieve green and low-carbon transformation, but hydrogen safety remains a bottleneck for its large-scale commercial development. This study conducts numerical simulation of hydrogen leakage accidents in liquid hydrogen refueling stations, analyzes the shortcomings of protective walls in the safety aspect, and proposes the use of fences for protection. The results show that although the protective walls can prevent the cold hydrogen gas from diffusing outside the storage tank area, it greatly increases the duration and final dissipation time. Then gas cloud is prone to accumulate in corners. The fences can alter the turbulent field around the storage tank area, accelerate the heat exchange between cloud and air, and promote buoyancy. The promoting effect of fences on turbulence is most evident under windy conditions, especially outside the fence. Results indicate that the 3 cm and 4 cm fences have the best effect. Compared with the protective wall case, under windy conditions, the dissipation time of flammable clouds in the corner of the 3 cm fence is reduced by 8 s, while the 4 cm fence is reduced by 7 s. It should be noted that under wind conditions, the dilution time outside the 3 cm fence decreases by 21 s, while the 4 cm fence decreases by 35 s. Under windy conditions, there is a uniformly concentrated strong turbulent flow field near the 3 cm fence.