Hydrogen Safety

(Fire and Explosion)

Dr. Waheed Miran

SCME, NUST

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 Fire & Explosion
• To prevent accidents resulting from fires and explosions,
engineers must be familiar with

✓ The fire and explosion properties of materials,

✓ The nature of the fire and explosion process, and
✓ Procedures to reduce fire and explosion hazards.

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 Fire & Explosion
The Fire Triangle
The essential elements for combustion are fuel, an oxidizer, and an ignition source.
These elements are illustrated by the fire triangle.

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 Fire & Explosion
When fuel, oxidizer, and an ignition source are present at the necessary
levels, burning will occur. This means a fire will not occur if

(1) fuel is not present or is not present in sufficient quantities,

(2) an oxidizer is not present or is not present in sufficient quantities,
and
(3) the ignition source is not energetic enough to initiate the fire.

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 Fire & Explosion
Definitions
Combustion or fire: Combustion or fire is a chemical reaction in which
a substance combines with an oxidant and releases energy. Part of the
energy released is used to sustain the reaction.
Ignition: Ignition of a flammable mixture may be caused by a
flammable mixture coming in contact with a source of ignition with
sufficient energy or the gas reaching a temperature high enough to
cause the gas to autoignite.
Autoignition temperature (AIT): A fixed temperature above which
adequate energy is available in the environment to provide an ignition
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 Fire & Explosion
Flammability limits:
• Vapor-air mixtures will ignite and burn only over a well specified
range of compositions.
• The mixture will not burn when the composition is lower than the
lower flammable limit (LFL); the mixture is too lean for combustion.
• The mixture is also not combustible when the composition is too
rich, that is, when it is above the upper flammable limit (UFL).
• A mixture is flammable only when the composition is between the
LFL and the UFL. Commonly used units are volume percent fuel
(percentage of fuel plus air).

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 Fire & Explosion
Explosion: An explosion is a rapid expansion of gases resulting in a
rapidly moving pressure or shock wave. The expansion can be
mechanical (by means of a sudden rupture of a pressurized vessel), or it
can be the result of a rapid chemical reaction. Explosion damage is
caused by the pressure or shock wave.

Mechanical explosion: An explosion resulting from the sudden failure

of a vessel containing high-pressure nonreactive gas.

Deflagration: An explosion in which the reaction front moves at a

speed less than the speed of sound in the unreacted medium.

Detonation: An explosion in which the reaction front moves at a speed

greater than the speed of sound in the unreacted medium.

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 Fire & Explosion
Confined explosion: An explosion occurring within a vessel or a
building. These are most common and usually result in injury to the
building inhabitants and extensive damage.
Unconfined explosion: Unconfined explosions occur in the open.
This type of explosion is usually the result of a flammable gas
release. The gas is dispersed and mixed with air until it comes in
contact with an ignition source. Unconfined explosions are rarer
than confined explosions because the explosive material is
frequently diluted below the LFL by wind dispersion. These
explosions are destructive because large quantities of gas and
large areas are frequently involved

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 Fire & Explosion
Shock wave: An abrupt pressure wave moving through a
gas. A shock wave in open air is followed by a strong wind;
the combination of shock wave and wind is called a blast
wave. The pressure increase in the shock wave is so rapid
that the process is mostly adiabatic.

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Fire & Explosion

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Fire & Explosion

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 Fire & Explosion
Gases and Vapors Flammability limits
Flammability limits for vapors are determined experimentally in a
specially designed closed vessel apparatus

• Vapor-air mixtures of known concentration are added and then

ignited. The maximum explosion pressure is measured.
• This test is repeated with different concentrations to establish the
range of flammability for the specific gas.

Fig. Maximum pressure for methane combustion in a 20-L sphere. The flammability limits 2a0re
defined at 1 psig maximum pressure.
 Fire & Explosion
Vapor Mixtures
Frequently LFLs and UFLs for mixtures are needed. These mixture
limits are computed using the Le Chatelier equation

where
LFLi is the lower flammable limit for component i (in volume %) of component i
in fuel and air,
yi is the mole fraction of component i on a combustible basis, and n is the number
of combustible species.

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 Fire & Explosion
Similarly,

where UFLi is the upper flammable limit for component i (in volume %)
of component I in fuel and air.
The derivation shows that the following assumptions are inherent in
this equation:
• The product heat capacities are constant.
• The number of moles of gas is constant.
•The combustion kinetics of the pure species is independent and
unchanged by the presence of other combustible species.
•The adiabatic temperature rise at the flammability limit is the same
for all species.
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 Fire & Explosion
Example.
What are the LFL and UFL of a gas mixture composed of 0.8% hexane,
2.0% methane, and 0.5% ethylene by volume?

Solution: The mole fractions on a fuel-only basis are calculated in the

following table.

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 Fire & Explosion

Because the mixture contains 3.3% total combustibles, it is flammable. 24

 Fire & Explosion
Estimating Flammability Limits
For some situations it may be necessary to estimate the flammability limits
without experimental data.

Jones found that for many hydrocarbon vapors the LFL and the UFL are a function of
the stoichiometric concentration (Cst) of fuel:

where Cst is volume % fuel in fuel plus air.

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Fire & Explosion

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Fire & Explosion (Flammability Diagram)
1. Draw Air Line

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Fire & Explosion (Flammability Diagram)

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Fire & Explosion (Flammability Diagram)

Nitrogen
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Fire & Explosion (Flammability Diagram)

Air line

Nitrogen
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Fire & Explosion (Flammability Diagram)

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Fire & Explosion (Flammability Diagram)

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