Numerical study of maximum overpressure in vented hydrogen explosions

The objective of vented hydrogen explosion studies is to elucidate the relationship between maximum overpressure, flame dynamics, and vent area. The effect of vent area on vented hydrogen explosions was numerically investigated in this paper. Initially, the performance of the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software GASFLOW-MPI was evaluated by comparing overpressure histories and flame behavior from experimental data with simulation results. The findings indicate that the predicted overpressure-time curves and flame behavior align closely with experimental observations for different ignition locations and vent areas. Furthermore, the mechanisms underlying maximum internal overpressure for different vent areas were elucidated. By analyzing the total energy, heat transfer between combustion products and vessel walls, and the moles of hydrogen, nitrogen, steam, and oxygen, the relationship between maximum overpressure and vent areas for different ignition locations was quantitatively analyzed.