A new numerical formulation of gas leakage and spread into a residential space in terms of hazard analysis

Ryuichi S. Nagaosa
2014 Journal of Hazardous Materials  
h i g h l i g h t s • A new numerical approach of the spread of leaked gases is proposed. • A computational fluid dynamics technique without a turbulent model is employed. • Numerical solutions without uncertainties produced by turbulent model are shown. • A series of case studies of gas spread is demonstrated. g r a p h i c a l a b s t r a c t a b s t r a c t This study proposes a new numerical formulation of the spread of a flammable gas leakage. A new numerical approach has been applied to
more » ... tablish fundamental data for a hazard assessment of flammable gas spread in an enclosed residential space. The approach employs an extended version of a twocompartment concept, and determines the leakage concentration of gas using a mass-balance based formulation. The study also introduces a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) technique for calculating three-dimensional details of the gas spread by resolving all the essential scales of fluid motions without a turbulent model. The present numerical technique promises numerical solutions with fewer uncertainties produced by the model equations while maintaining high accuracy. The study examines the effect of gas density on the concentration profiles of flammable gas spread. It also discusses the effect of gas leakage rate on gas concentration profiles.
doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2014.02.033 pmid:24637451 fatcat:2kv3akghqjbgzcr65j4fkbvqgq