Design of an experimental stand for hydrogen explosions

Abstract

Hydrogen, with its remarkable potential as a clean and abundant energy carrier, has gained significant attention as a promising solution for a sustainable future. However, the handling, storage, and utilization of hydrogen come with inherent risks, particularly the potential for explosions. The present work deals with the design of an experimental stand for hydrogen explosions in interconnected spaces, based on previous experience in the field of air-methane mixtures explosions. Considering the explosive properties of hydrogen, much more aggressive than methane gas, a comparative analysis is carried out between the results of a physical experiment of a methane explosion carried out on a spiral stand and the results obtained from a computational simulation of a hydrogen explosion on a similar geometry. The purpose of the comparative analysis is to highlight the vulnerable points of the future construction, bringing improvements to the new experimental model in the sense of increasing operational safety, while preserving, at the same time, the possibilities of recording the explosion parameters (pressures, velocities, flame front behavior) at a higher level of accuracy.