• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.431-438
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• 2023

Recently, study on hydrogen is being conducted due to environmental pollution and fossil fuel depletion. High-pressure gas hydrogen commonly used is applied to vehicle and tube trailers. In particular, high-pressure hydrogen storage tank for vehicles must comply with the guidelines stipulated in SAE J2601. There is a charging temperature limitation condition for the safety of the storage tank material. In this study, numerical analysis method were verified based on previous studies and the nozzle angle was changed for thermal management to analyze the increase in forced convection effect and energy uniformity due to the promotion of circulation flow. The previously applied high-pressure hydrogen storage tank has a length/diameter ratio of about 2.4 and was analyzed by comparing the length/diameter ratio with 8. As a result, the circulation flow of hydrogen flowing into the high-pressure hydrogen storage tank is promoted at a nozzle angle of 30° than the straight nozzle and accordingly, the effect of suppressing temperature rise by energy uniformity and forced convection was confirmed.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.761-768
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• 2022

In the hope of realizing carbon neutrality, Korea has established the goal of expanding the supply of hydrogen electric vehicles through a roadmap to revitalize the hydrogen economy. A prerequisite for successful supply expansion is securing the safety of hydrogen electric vehicles. Certain parts, such as the hydrogen transport pipe and tank, in hydrogen electric vehicles are exposed to high-pressure hydrogen gas over long periods of time, so the hydrogen enters the grain boundary of material, resulting in a degradation of the parts referred to as hydrogen embrittlement. In addition, since the safety of parts utilizing hydrogen varies depending on the type of material used and its environmental characteristics, the necessity for the enactment of a hydrogen embrittlement regulation has emerged and is still being discussed as a Global Technical Regulation (GTR). In this paper, we analyze a hydrogen compatibility material evaluation method discussed in GTR and present a direction for the development of Korean-type hydrogen compatibility material evaluation methods.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.188-193
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• 2009

Fuel cell vehicles are equipped with Pressure Relief Devices(PRDs) installed in pressure tank cylinder to prevent the explosion of the tank during a fire. PRDs are safety devices that perceive a fire and release gas in the pressure tank cylinder before it is exploded. But if the PRD does not actuate, because either the PRD fails or can't be surrounded by the flame of a fire, the tank will rupture and produce a blast wave and hydrogen fire ball. In this paper, we observed the fire behavior of actual fuel cell vehicle, comparing with that of gasoline vehicle.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.47-60
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• 2021

Hydrogen is a next-generation energy source, and according to the roadmap for activating the hydrogen economy, it is expected that industries to stably produce, store, and transport of hydrogen as well as the supply of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles will be made rapidly. Accordingly, safety measures for accidents of hydrogen vehicles in confined spaces such as tunnels are required. In this study, as part of a study to ensure the safety of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in road tunnels, a basic investigation and research on the risk of fire and explosion due to gas leakage and hydrogen tank rupture among various hazards caused by hydrogen fuel cell vehicle accidents in tunnels was conducted. The following results were obtained. In the event of hydrogen fuel cell vehicle accidents, the gas release rate depends on the orifice diameter of TPRD, and when the gas is ignited, the maximum heat release rate reaches 3.22~51.36 MW (orifice diameter: 1~4 mm) depending on the orifice diameter but the duration times are short. Therefore, it was analyzed that there was little increase in risk due to fire. As the overpressure of the gas explosion was calculated by the equivalent TNT method, in the case of yield of VCE of 0.2 is applied, the safety threshold distance is analyzed to be about 35 m, and number of the equivalent fatalities are conservatively predicted to reach tens of people.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.517-534
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• 2021

Hydrogen fuel is emerging as an new energy source to replace fossil fuels in that it can solve environmental pollution problems and reduce energy imbalance and cost. Since hydrogen is eco-friendly but highly explosive, there is a high concern about fire and explosion accidents of hydrogen fueled vehicles. In particular, in semi-enclosed spaces such as tunnels, the risk is predicted to increase. Therefore, this study was conducted on the applicability of the equivalent TNT model and the numerical analysis method to evaluate the hydrogen explosion pressure in the tunnel. In comparison and review of the explosion pressure of 6 equivalent TNT models and Weyandt's experimental results, the Henrych equation was found to be the closest with a deviation of 13.6%. As a result of examining the effect of hydrogen tank capacity (52, 72, 156 L) and tunnel cross-section (40.5, 54, 72, 95 m²) on the explosion pressure using numerical analysis, the explosion pressure wave in the tunnel initially it propagates in a hemispherical shape as in open space. Furthermore, when it passes the certain distance it is transformed a plane wave and propagates at a very gradual decay rate. The Henrych equation agrees well with the numerical analysis results in the section where the explosion pressure is rapidly decreasing, but it is significantly underestimated after the explosion pressure wave is transformed into a plane wave. In case of same hydrogen tank capacity, an explosion pressure decreases as the tunnel cross-sectional area increases, and in case of the same cross-sectional area, the explosion pressure increases by about 2.5 times if the hydrogen tank capacity increases from 52 L to 156 L. As a result of the evaluation of the limiting distance affecting the human body, when a 52 L hydrogen tank explodes, the limiting distance to death was estimated to be about 3 m, and the limiting distance to serious injury was estimated to be 28.5~35.8 m.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Visualization
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.11-19
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• 2024

We performed numerical simulations on a C-type liquid hydrogen (LH2) storage tank for commercial vehicles to reduce evaporation rates by manipulating vortical structures. Owing to external heat, natural convection occurs inside the tank, leading to the enhanced evaporation of LH2. We observed that the regions of high magnitude vorticity correlate with those of high evaporation rates. Specifically, vortical structures in the side section area show higher vorticity magnitude and evaporation rates compared to those in the midsection area. To suppress these vortical motions, we installed an array of ribs at intervals corresponding to the mean diameter of the vortical structures. As a result, the area occupied by vortical structures in the side section area decreased, leading to a reduction in evaporation speed by approximately 2.3 times. This study elucidates the internal evaporation mechanism in storage tanks from the perspective of flow structures and potentially contributes to minimizing the boil-off rate in cryogenic storage tanks.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.123-133
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• 2023

Commercial hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are charged by compressing gaseous hydrogen to high pressure and storing it in a storage tank in the vehicle. This process causes the temperature of the gas to rise, to ensure the safety to storage tanks, the temperature is limited. Therefore, a heat transfer model is needed to explain this temperature rise. The heat transfer model includes the convective heat transfer phenomenon, and accurate estimation is required. In this study, the convective heat transfer coefficient in the hydrogen fueling process was calculated and compared using various correlation equations considering physical phenomena. The hydrogen fueling process was classified into the fueling line from the dispenser to the tank inlet and the storage tank in the vehicle, and the convective heat transfer coefficients were estimated according to process parameters such as mass flow rate, diameter, temperature and pressure. As a result, in the case of the inside of the filling line, the convective heat transfer coefficient was about 1000 times larger than that of the inside of the storage tank, and in the case of the outside of the filling line, the convective heat transfer coefficient was about 3 times larger than that of the outside of the storage tank. Finally, as a result of a comprehensive analysis of convective heat transfer coefficients in each process, it was found that outside the storage tank was lowest in the entire hydrogen fueling process, thus dominated the heat transfer phenomenon.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.551-564
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• 2021

The use of clean energy based on the hydrogen economy is increasing rapidly due to the greenhouse gas reduction policies and the increase in the need for hydrogen. Currently, South Korea government have been considering a plan to construct hydrogen refueling stations at expressway service area for the purpose of supplying hydrogen vehicles. In the case of a hydrogen refueling stations, a quantitative risk assessment (QRA) must be performed because it includs and uses a high pressurized hydrogen storage tank. In this study, QRA was conducted using societal risk and F-N curve by the consequence assessment (CA) of jet fire and explosion according to the population density, capacity of the high pressurized hydrogen storage tank and frequency assessment (FA) data to the general hydrogen refueling stations systems in expressway service area. In the cases of jet with a leak diameter of 7.16 mm, regardless of expressway service area location, the societal risk was over 1E-04 that was acceptable for as Low As reasonably practicable (ALARP) region (workforce), but unacceptable for ALARP region (public). In the cases of gas explosion, all expressway service area satisfy ALARP region. In the case of the population density is over 0.0727, QRA for constructing the hydrogen refueling stations, must be conducted.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.35 no.7
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• pp.813-819
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• 2011

In this research, we investigated the hydrogen-gas filling characteristics of ultra-light composite tanks that have a plastic or aluminum liner inside the composite shell. The study was performed for different gas and tank temperatures. The temperature changes at various positions in the Type-4 tank during hydrogen-gas filling were monitored in order to understand the effects of the filling conditions. The results were compared with those obtained for a Type-3 tank. As the filling speed was increased, a quicker temperature rise was observed, and the temperature distribution over the entire region showed significant discrepancies.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.629-636
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• 2022

Domestic eco-friendly vehicles currently account for 5.8% of the total registered vehicles in Korea. Hydrogen vehicles, one of the representative eco-friendly vehicles, have grown rapidly as they have been expanded to the market based on the government's policy to boost the hydrogen industry. Therefore, it is time to expand the safety review of hydrogen vehicles in various directions according to the increase in supply. In this study, the effect of internal heat damage was analyzed when a jet flame was generated by a hydrogen car in a road tunnel. It was simulated using Fluent, and the amount of jet flame injection was selected in consideration of the hydrogen tank capacity of commercial hydrogen vehicles for road tunnels. In addition, the study was conducted with the direction of the jet flame and the nozzle distance from the tunnel wall as variables. From the results, when the jet flame erupted in the road tunnel, high radiant heat emission of more than 20 kW/m² was generated in most areas within ±5 m in the longitudinal direction based on the vehicle (spray nozzle) and 5 to 7 m in the lateral direction based on the adjacent tunnel wall.