Study on the impact of heat loss on premixed hydrogen/air deflagration in closed pipelines

Abstract

This study developed a one-step chemical reaction model for hydrogen combustion and investigated the effect of heat loss on premixed hydrogen/air deflagration in closed pipelines using numerical simulations with the CFD code GASFLOW-MPI. The simulation results were compared and verified with experimental data. The numerical simulations accurately predicted the flame front structure, pressure, and flame tip position during the deflagration of premixed hydrogen/air. Furthermore, a comparison of adiabatic simulation and heat transfer simulation results revealed that large-scale vortices within the turbulent flow were closely linked to heat loss during the tulip flame stage. Simultaneously, heat loss reduced pressure and flame tip position by diminishing the flame wrinkling factor caused by thermodiffusive instability. Finally, convective heat transfer identified as the most critical factor contributing to heat loss during the deflagration of premixed hydrogen/air in closed pipelines. Specifically, during the tulip flame stage, heat loss was mainly due to convective heat transfer (73.8%∼76.3%), with radiation playing a minor role (23.7%∼26.2%). Therefore, accurate prediction of characteristic parameters during the deflagration of premixed hydrogen/air requires numerical simulations that account for both convective and radiative heat transfer.