Hydrogen Risk Mitigation
As the UK energy sector pivots to carbon neutrality, the use of Hydrogen as an energy vector is likely to be essential. This change brings both opportunities and challenges. Facilities with either the CREATION, storage, use, or processing of hydrogen will need to be designed, constructed, maintained, operated, and decommissioned in a way that provides protection against the threat of fire or explosion.
As industry-leading engineers in risk mitigation, we have the expertise to provide structural design of structures for hydrogen storage, usage, or processing. Previous experience includes the design and testing of hydrogen refuelling facilities, and the numerical modelling of hydrogen flame propagation.
Hydrogen, per kg, has a molecular energy TNT equivalence of 28.65 (1,2) which means the associated risks with a rapid release of energy can be catastrophic. Hydrogen explosions are often complex events. Their pressure-time histories depend heavily on various factors including:
- Degree of confinement
- Release rate
- Local conditions – is the material venting into a room or into open air
- Reaction rate; does the hydrogen burn, deflagrate, or experience deflagration to detonation transition? (DDT)
The majority of damaging events within the last decade with respect to hydrogen facilities is either caused due to fire or explosion. D J Goode and Associates are industrial leaders in the prediction of dynamic loading on structures from energetic events, and can provide design support for enhancing the resilience for structures to reduce risk to personnel or limit financial losses.
(1) Molkov, V (2012). Fundamentals of hydrogen safety engineering, Part I and Part II. Available from: www.bookboon.com, free download e-book.
(2) BRHS, Biennial Report on Hydrogen Safety (2009). The European network of excellence “Safety of hydrogen as an energy carrier” (NoE HySafe)
By Paul T
Senior Engineer
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