The Impact of the Configuration of a Hydrogen Refueling Station on Risk Level

Abstract

The paper discusses potential hazards at hydrogen refueling stations for transportation vehicles: cars and trucks. The main hazard analyzed here is an uncontrolled gas release due to a failure in one of the structures in the station: storage tanks of different pressure levels or a dispenser. This may lead to a hydrogen cloud occurring near the source of the release or at a given distance. The range of the cloud was analyzed in connection to the amount of the released gas and the wind velocity. The results of the calculations were compared for chosen structures in the station. Then potential fires and explosions were investigated. The hazard zones were calculated with respect to heat fluxes generated in the fires and the overpressure generated in explosions. The maximum ranges of these zones vary from about 14 to 30 m and from about 9 to 14 m for a fires and an explosions of hydrogen, respectively. Finally, human death probabilities are presented as functions of the distance from the sources of the uncontrolled hydrogen releases. These are shown for different amounts and pressures of the released gas. In addition, the risk of human death is determined along with the area, where it reaches the highest value in the whole station. The risk of human death in this area is 1.63 × 10−5 [1/year]. The area is approximately 8 square meters.