Validation of two-layer model for underexpanded hydrogen jets

Previous studies have shown that the two-layer model more accurately predicts hydrogen dispersion than the conventional notional nozzle models without significantly increasing the computational expense. However, the model was only validated for predicting the concentration distribution and has not been adequately validated for predicting the velocity distributions. In the present study, particle imaging velocimetry (PIV) was used to measure the velocity field of an underexpanded hydrogen jet released at 10 bar from a 1.5 mm diameter orifice. The two-layer model was the used to calculate the inlet conditions for a two-dimensional axisymmetric CFD model to simulate the hydrogen jet downstream of the Mach disk. The predicted velocity spreading and centerline decay rates agreed well with the PIV measurements. The predicted concentration distribution was consistent with data from previous planar Rayleigh scattering measurements used to verify the concentration distribution predictions in an earlier study. The jet spreading was also simulated using several widely used notional nozzle models combined with the integral plume model for comparison. These results show that the velocity and concentration distributions are both better predicted by the two-layer model than the notional nozzle models to complement previous studies verifying only the predicted concentration profiles. Thus, this study shows that the two-layer model can accurately predict the jet velocity distributions as well as the concentration distributions as verified earlier. Though more validation studies are needed to improve confidence in the model and increase the range of validity, the present work indicates that the two-layer model is a promising tool for fast, accurate predictions of the flow fields of underexpanded hydrogen jets.     

Ignitability and mixing of underexpanded hydrogen jets

Reliable methods are needed to predict ignition boundaries that result from compressed hydrogen bulk storage leaks without complex modeling. To support the development of these methods, a new high-pressure stagnation chamber has been integrated into Sandia National Laboratories’ Turbulent Combustion Laboratory so that relevant compressed gas release scenarios can be replicated. For the present study, a jet with a 10:1 pressure ratio issuing from a small 0.75 mm radius nozzle has been examined. Jet exit shock structure was imaged by Schlieren photography, while quantitative Planar Laser Rayleigh Scatter imaging was used to measure instantaneous hydrogen mole fractions downstream of the Mach disk. Measured concentration statistics and ignitable boundary predictions compared favorably to analytic reconstructions of downstream jet dispersion behavior. Model results were produced from subsonic jet dispersion models and by invoking self-similarity jet scaling arguments with length scaling by experimentally measured effective source radii. Similar far field reconstructions that relied on various notional nozzle models to account for complex jet exit shock phenomena failed to satisfactorily predict the experimental findings. These results indicate further notional nozzle refinement is needed to improve the prediction fidelity. Moreover, further investigation is required to understand the effect of different pressure ratios on measured virtual origins used in the jet dispersion model.     

Comparison of two-layer model for hydrogen and helium jets with notional nozzle model predictions and experimental data for pressures up to 35 MPa

A two-layer, reduced order model of high pressure hydrogen jets was developed which includes partitioning of the flow between the central core jet region leading to the Mach disk and the supersonic slip region around the core. The flow after the Mach disk is subsonic while the flow around the Mach disk is supersonic with a significant amount of entrained air. This flow structure significantly affects the hydrogen concentration profiles downstream. The predictions of this model are compared to previous experimental data for high pressure hydrogen jets up to 20 MPa and to notional nozzle models and CFD models for pressures up to 35 MPa using ideal gas properties. The results show that this reduced order model gives better predictions of the mole fraction distributions than previous models for highly underexpanded jets. The predicted locations of the 4% lower flammability limit also show that the two-layer model much more accurately predicts the measured locations than the notional nozzle models. The comparisons also show that the CFD model always underpredicts the measured mole fraction concentrations.     

Measurements of concentration decays in underexpanded jets through rectangular slot nozzles

Previously studies of hydrogen releases have focused on hydrogen jets through round nozzles, but leaks are more likely to result in jets through slots. In this study, the concentration decays along the jet centerline were measured for underexpanded jets from rectangular slot nozzles with aspect ratios (AR) of 1–12.6 for storage pressures up to 3.7 MPa. The mass fractions along the jet centerlines decay inversely with distance from the nozzle as with axisymmetric jets but with a faster decay rate. All the data collapses onto a single curve when normalized by the proper factor of the downstream location, except for the jets from square nozzles (AR1). The decay rates for jets from rectangular nozzles with AR greater than unity are significantly larger than for the jets from square nozzles. The jets from square nozzles behave somewhat like the circular jets from circular nozzles due to the symmetric geometry, so the decay rate is closer to that of circular jets relative to the jets from the other rectangular nozzles. This database will be useful for model validations for the modeling of jets from rectangular nozzles.     

Modeling of underexpanded hydrogen jets through square and rectangular slot nozzles

The development and revision of safety codes and standards for hydrogen infrastructure requires a solid scientific basis, including studies of unignited releases from high pressure systems for various scenarios. Most hydrogen releases are modeled as axisymmetric jets, but real leaks are more likely to be non-axisymmetric jets issuing from high aspect ratio cracks or slots. In the present study, underexpanded hydrogen jets from square and rectangular nozzles with aspect ratios of 1–16 were numerically modeled for stagnation pressures up to 20 MPa. The near and far flow fields were modeled separately using two sequential computational domains to accurately and efficiently capture the flow characteristics. The numerical models were first validated with experimental data from a previous experimental study and literature data. The mass fraction and velocity distributions show that the centerline decay rates increase as the nozzle aspect ratio increases, but this increase is dependent on the pressure. This means that the canonical decay law of round turbulent jets and plumes no longer applies to the slot nozzle jets for high pressures. The radial profiles collapse onto a Gaussian curve in the major axis plane, but neither collapse, nor are they Gaussian in the minor axis plane with peaks away from the jet centerline. Different shock patterns were identified along the major and minor axes and the axis switching phenomenon seen in the literature was also reproduced. The axis switching resulted in significantly wider flattened concentration distributions compared with the axisymmetric jet which may require consideration during safety analyses for non-circular nozzles. A scaling factor taking both the nozzle shape and pressure effects into account was then developed to better scale the centerline decay rates for jets from both the square and rectangular nozzles. The present study demonstrates that the nozzle shape effects on the jet spreading should not be overlooked and proper scaling factors are required to collapse the data and calculate decay rates.     

Numerical investigation of the flammable extent of semi-confined hydrogen and methane jets

The effect of surfaces on the extent of high pressure horizontal unignited jets of hydrogen and methane is studied using computer fluid dynamics simulations performed with FLACS Hydrogen. Results for constant flow rate through a 6.35 mm diameter pressure relief Device (PRD) orifice from 100 barg, 250 barg, 400 barg, 550 barg and 700 barg compressed gas systems are presented for both horizontal hydrogen and methane jets. To quantify the effect of a horizontal surface on the jet, the jet exit is positioned at various heights above the ground ranging from 0.1 m to 10 m. Free jet simulations are performed for comparison purposes. Also, for cross-validation purposes, a number of cases for 100 barg releases were simulated using proprietary models developed for hydrogen within commercial CFD software PHOENICS. It is found that the presence of a surface and its proximity to the jet centreline result in a pronounced increase in the extent of the flammable cloud compared to a free jet.     

Self-similar characteristics of underexpanded,cryogenic hydrogen and methane jets

Underexpanded, cryogenic hydrogen and methane jets were measured using laser Raman scattering diagnostic. The jets were released from 1 mm to 1.25 mm orifices for the stagnation pressure ranges of 2–6 bar and temperature ranges of 37–46 K (hydrogen) and 112–189 K (methane). Raman signals are inherently small, thus a denoising algorithm was developed to substantially reduce the noise hindering the statistical analysis of the data. The time-averaged concentration and temperature data were plotted to show a hyperbolic decay law along the jet centerline and a Gaussian distribution in the radial direction. The concentration fluctuations of the cryogenic jets are similar to those of warm jets, the centerline RMS mass fraction decays similarly to the mean mass fraction, and the highest radial concentration fluctuations appear in the shear layer. Thus, the self-similar characteristics of the cryogenic jets are comparable with room-temperature jets for the present test conditions.     

Evaluation of notional nozzle approaches for CFD simulations of free-shear under-expanded hydrogen jets

Several approaches are usually applied for modelling the source of high pressure under-expanded jets, ranging from the computationally expensive resolution of the jet's shock structure to simple formulae (pseudo-source or notional nozzle approaches). However, the assumptions made in each approach introduce inaccuracies in the CFD calculations. The objective of this work was twofold; to compare and evaluate the performance of both selected notional nozzle approaches and turbulence models with experimental results of free-shear high momentum H₂ round jets. The experimental data covered horizontal H₂ releases issuing from small nozzles (0.25–1 mm diameter). Three two-equation turbulence models were chosen for the simulations, the popular standard k-ε, the Shear Stress Transport (SST) and the baseline (BSL) k-ω model together with five notional nozzle approaches. The numerical results were presented in a systematic way in order to make general conclusions on the performance of both the approaches and models.     

Large eddy simulation of highly turbulent under-expanded hydrogen and methane jets for gaseous-fuelled internal combustion engines

Burning hydrogen in conventional internal combustion (IC) engines is associated with zero carbon-based tailpipe exhaust emissions. In order to obtain high volumetric efficiency and eliminate abnormal combustion modes such as preignition and backfire, in-cylinder direct injection (DI) of hydrogen is considered preferable for a future generation of hydrogen IC engines. However, hydrogen's low density requires high injection pressures for fast hydrogen penetration and sufficient in-cylinder mixing. Such pressures lead to chocked flow conditions during the injection process which result in the formation of turbulent under-expanded hydrogen jets. In this context, fundamental understanding of the under-expansion process and turbulent mixing just after the nozzle exit is necessary for the successful design of an efficient hydrogen injection system and associated injection strategies. The current study used large eddy simulation (LES) to investigate the characteristics of hydrogen under-expanded jets with different nozzle pressure ratios (NPR), namely 8.5, 10, 30 and 70. A test case of methane injection with NPR = 8.5 was also simulated for direct comparison with the hydrogen jetting under the same NPR. The near-nozzle shock structure, the geometry of the Mach disk and reflected shock angle, as well as the turbulent shear layer were all captured in very good agreement with data available in the literature. Direct comparison between hydrogen and methane fuelling showed that the ratio of the specific heats had a noticeable effect on the near-nozzle shock structure and dimensions of the Mach disk. It was observed that with methane, mixing did not occur before the Mach disk, whereas with hydrogen high levels of momentum exchange and mixing appeared at the boundary of the intercepting shock. This was believed to be the effect of the high turbulence fluctuations at the nozzle exit of the hydrogen jet which triggered Gortler vortices. Generally, the primary mixing was observed to occur after the location of the Mach disk and particularly close to the jet boundaries where large-scale turbulence played a dominant role. It was also found that NPR had significant effect on the mixture's local fuel richness. Finally, it was noted that applying higher injection pressure did not essentially increase the penetration length of the hydrogen jets and that there could be an optimum NPR that would introduce more enhanced mixing whilst delivering sufficient fuel in less time. Such an optimum NPR could be in the region of 100 based on the geometry and observations of the current study.     

Blow-off process of highly under-expanded hydrogen non-premixed jet flame

Relationships between flame lift-off heights and reservoir pressure were experimentally investigated in order to clarify blow-off process of hydrogen non-premixed jet flames with a highly under-expanded jet structure. In this study, straight nozzles with diameters of 0.34, 0.53, 0.75 and 1.12 mm were used with maximum reservoir pressure for spouting hydrogen of 13.2 MPa. Experimental results are shown that lift-off heights in stable under-expanded jet flames do not vary significantly and are independent of the reservoir pressure in the range of studied pressure. However, the lifted heights are affected by the nozzle diameters and become smaller as the nozzle diameters increase. From experimental results, the condition for the blow-off process of under-expanded subsonic jet flames was proposed. It was concluded that the under-expanded jet flame could be blown off when the maximum waistline position, where radial distance from the jet axis to an elliptic stoichiometric contour reaches its maximum comes closer to the nozzle exit than the edge of the jet flame base.     

Computational study of horizontal subsonic free jets of hydrogen: Validation and classical similarity analysis

Computational fluid dynamic simulations were performed using the commercial program Fluent in order to study the hydrogen concentration decay along the centerline of free horizontal subsonic jets. The hydrogen jets were assumed to be steady and turbulent. To explore the buoyancy effect on the hydrogen dispersion processes, the Froude numbers were varied from 250 to 1000. Zero gravity jets were also simulated and analyzed in order to determine the jet momentum dominated limit. Classical similarity analysis was performed and our results were compared to the results of vertical axisymmetric free jets from the literature.     

Surface effects on flammable extent of hydrogen and methane jets

Studies on the effect of surfaces on the extent of the flammable cloud of high-pressure horizontal and vertical jets of hydrogen and methane are performed using CFD numerical simulations. For the horizontal jets, two scenarios pertaining to the location of the surface are studied: horizontal surface (the ground), and vertical surface (side wall). For a constant flow rate release, the extent of the flammable cloud is determined as a function of time. Effects of the proximity of the surface on the flammable extent along the axis of the jet and its impact on the maximum extent of the flammable cloud is explored and compared for both hydrogen and methane. The results are also compared to the predictions of the Birch correlations for flammable extents. It is found that the presence of a surface and its proximity to the jet centerline result in a pronounced increase in the extent of the flammable cloud compared to a free jet.     

Numerical study of spontaneous ignition of pressurized hydrogen released by the failure of a rupture disk into a tube

Recent experimental observations have shown that pressurized hydrogen may be spontaneously ignited in downstream tubes of sufficient length when it is released into the air due to the rapid failure of a pressure boundary. The mixing between hydrogen and shocked air within the downstream tubes is speculated to be a key process for the occurrence of spontaneous ignition of hydrogen. A direct numerical simulation has been conducted to analyze the processes of mixing and of spontaneous ignition of hydrogen within a tube after the rupture of a disk at a bursting pressure of 86.1 atm. A realistic assumption of the geometry of the pressure boundary at the moment of its failure is used for the initial condition of the numerical simulation to properly account for its effect on the mixing process. The present simulation results show that the mixing of shocked air and expanding hydrogen is enhanced by the transient multi-dimensional shock initiated by the failure of a rupture disk and by the following interactions during the flow development through the tube, thus causing spontaneous ignition of hydrogen within the tube.     

Large Eddy Simulation of low Reynolds number turbulent hydrogen jets - Modelling considerations and comparison with detailed experiments

The main objective of this work is to apply Large Eddy Simulation (LES) on hydrogen subsonic round jets in order to evaluate modelling strategies and to provide guidelines for similar applications. The ADREA-HF code and the experiments conducted by Sandia National Laboratories are used for that purpose. These experiments are very suitable for LES studies because turbulent fluctuations have been measured which is something rare in hydrogen experiments. Hydrogen is released vertically from a small orifice of 1.91 mm diameter into stagnant environment. Three experimental cases are simulated with different Reynolds number at the release area, namely 885, 1360 and 2384. Hydrogen mass fraction and velocity mean values and fluctuations are compared against the experimental data. Several grid resolutions are used to assess the effect on the results, using mainly the Smagorinsky subgrid scale model. In the lowest Reynolds number case, an Implicit LES code, used independently from a different scientific group, is also tested. In this case, the performance of the RNG-LES subgrid scale model of the ADREA-HF code is also examined. Additionally, the effect of Smagorinsky constant and of the Van Driest correction is evaluated. The amount of the resolved turbulence and of the velocity spectra are presented. Finally, the effect of the release modelling is discussed. The analysis shows that even a coarse discretization of the release area can give acceptable results for hydrogen safety engineering applications. However, dense grids are required for the more accurate prediction of the turbulent characteristics. The two LES codes gave similar results and the overall agreement with the experiment was satisfactory.     

Characteristics of the Mach Disk in the Underexpanded Jet in which the Back Pressure Continuously Changes with Time

When the high-pressure gas is exhausted to the vacuum chamber from the nozzle, the underexpanded supersonic jet contained with the Mach disk is generally formed. The eventual purpose of this study is to clarify the unsteady phenomenon of the underexpanded free jet when the back pressure continuously changes with time. The characteristic of the Mach disk has been clarified in consideration of the diameter and position of it by the numerical analysis in this paper. The sonic jet of the exit Mach number Me=1 is assumed and the axisymmetric conservational equation is solved by the TVD method in the numerical calculation. The diameter and position of the Mach disk differs with the results of a steady jet and the influence on the continuously changing of the back pressure is evidenced from the comparison with the case of steady supersonic jet.     

Computational study of the multi hydrogen jets in presence of the upstream step in a Ma=4 supersonic flow

The injection of the hydrogen is the main noteworthy stage for the advance of the supersonic engine. In our computational study, the incidence of the step condition in the upstream of the hydrogen multi-jet is investigated for the augmentation of the fuel distribution in downside of the fuel jets at Mach = 4. To perform our research, a 3-dimensional computational domain is taken to unveil the primary flow organization of the hydrogen jets and its interactions with the freestream for the advance of fuel mixing. This work comprehensively examined the impression of the jet pressure on the mixing value and flow structure. Besides, the three-dimensional outcome of the step on the pattern of the four multi-jets is compared with the single equivalent jet. According to our results, the existence of step improves the fuel mixing efficiency up to 30% close to of early jets. Our findings reveal that increasing the step height from 0.5 to 2 mm enhances the fuel mixing more than 15%.     

Transient supersonic release of hydrogen from a high pressure vessel: A computational analysis

Understanding the characteristics of a hydrogen gas jet exiting from a compressed vessel during vessel rupture or venting is crucial for determining safety requirements for distribution and use of hydrogen. Such jets can undergo several flow regimes during venting, from initial supersonic flow, to transonic, to subsonic flow regimes as the pressure in the vessel decreases. A bow shock wave is a characteristic flow structure during the initial stage of the jet development, and this paper focuses on the development of the bow shock wave and the jet structure behind it. The transient behaviour of an impulsively initiated jet is investigated using unsteady, compressible flow simulations. Both the cases of a hydrogen jet exiting into quiescent hydrogen and of a hydrogen jet exiting into air are presented. The gases are considered to be ideal, and the computational domain is axisymmetric. The jet structure, including the shock wave and flow separation due to an adverse pressure gradient at the nozzle is investigated with a focus on the differences between the single- and multi-component flow scenarios.     

Experimental investigation on the microscopic characteristics of underexpanded transient hydrogen jets

The microscopic characteristics of hydrogen jet affect the concentration distribution and gas-air mixing of high-pressure gas jets for a hydrogen engine. In this study, the schlieren method was used to record the hydrogen jet for an outward-opening injector. The results showed that the jet asymmetricity was large in the initial stage of the jet development, then decreased rapidly as the jet developed, and finally entered a stable range of 13%–38% when the valve fully opened. The increase of the ambient pressure was beneficial to reduce the fluctuation range of the asymmetricity. The steady S of an outward-opening injector (S = 0.7 ± 0.03) is larger than that of a single-hole injector (S = 0.25 ± 0.05). The increase in injection pressure and the decrease in ambient pressure caused S to decrease to 1 faster. The steady Γ of an outward-opening injector was experimentally determined, and the value (Γ = 0.98 ± 0.1) was smaller than that of a single-hole injector. According to the transient Γ, the injection process can be divided into the developing phase and the self-similar phase. Γ increased rapidly with time and then stabilized after the injector valve reached its maximum lift position. The gas concentration distribution was uneven along the axial direction. The mole fraction decreased with the increase in axial penetration, and entered a stable range of 0.27–0.37 when axial penetration was greater than 20 mm. The average equivalent ratio was large at the beginning of injection under different pressure ratios, and then decreased and finally stabilized in the range of 1.4–5.     

Experimental study of ignited unsteady hydrogen jets into air

In order to simulate an accidental hydrogen release from the low pressure pipe system of a hydrogen vehicle a systematic study on the nature of transient hydrogen jets into air and their combustion behaviour was performed at the FZK hydrogen test site HYKA. Horizontal unsteady hydrogen jets with an amount of hydrogen up to 60 STP dm³ and initial pressures of 5 and 16 bar have been investigated. The hydrogen jets were ignited with different ignition times and positions. The experiments provide new experimental data on pressure loads and heat releases resulting from the deflagration of hydrogen-air clouds formed by unsteady turbulent hydrogen jets released into a free environment. It is shown that the maximum pressure loads occur for ignition in a narrow position and time window. The possible hazard potential arising from an ignited free transient hydrogen jet is described.