Investigation of the explosive atmospheres extent of hydrogen and methane gas mixtures by calculation and FLACS-CFD simulation

Abstract

Explosive atmosphere is defined as a mixture of dangerous substances with air, under atmospheric conditions, in the form of gases, vapours, mist or dust in which, after ignition has occurred, combustion spreads to the entire unburned mixture. Methane-hydrogen mixtures will become more and more important for energy use in the near future. It has many positive economic and environmental benefits, while the risk of explosion is partly forgotten. It is necessary to identify hazardous areas in the interpretation of technological equipment. The applicable standard, EN IEC 60079-10-1:2020, defines the extent of the explosive atmosphere and zones for a given material, but does not cover mixtures. The objective of the study is to determine the explosive hazard areas of different mixtures of hydrogen and natural gas (methane), by adding additional possible relationships to the initial equations of the standard, and to compare them with the results of the models built in the FLACS-CFD simulation.