Validating, documenting and qualifying models used for consequence assessment of hydrogen explosion scenarios

This paper was presented at the Eleventh International Symposium on Hazards, Prevention, and Mitigation of Industrial Explosions (11 ISHPMIE) in Dalian on 24-29 July 2016.

This paper explores a systematic methodology for validating, documenting and qualifying models used for consequence assessment of accidental explosion scenarios. To demonstrate the advantages of implementing and maintaining an integrated framework, example validation cases relevant for the modelling of vented hydrogen deflagrations are presented. Simulations were performed using the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tool FLACS-Hydrogen. The main focus of this study is on the definition and application of a model evaluation protocol (MEP), building on recent advances from the hydrogen safety community. Particular emphasis is put on the classification of experiments in the validation database. The present methodology is found to be highly useful for qualifying a model system for specific applications as well as for highlighting areas where further development is needed.

The paper is a deliverable from the project “Improving hydrogen safety for energy applications through pre-normative research on vented deflagrations”, or HySEA (www.hysea.eu), which receives funding from the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU) under grant agreement no. 671461. This Joint Undertaking receives support from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme and United Kingdom, Italy, Belgium and Norway.