166 / 2022-04-30 11:08:06

Simulation analysis on response of protection barrier wall due to hydrogen gas tank explosion

Hydrogen gas Explosion,Trinitrotoluene Equivalent Method,Protection Wall,Composite Structure,Blast Load,K&C Concrete Model

The global hydrogen demand is increasing as alternative to fossil fuels in many applications. Losses of human life and infrastructures occurred due to hydrogen gas tank explosion. Gas explosion accidents are frequently happened in South Korea and foreign countries. A hydrogen tank exploded (2019.05.23) at Gangwon Technopark in Gangneung, South Korea, tanker truck explosion (2019.06) at Air Product and Chemical facility in Santa Clara, CA, and an explosion (2020.06.11) occurred at the hydrogen production plant in Texas City were the few accidents occurred in past years.



The purpose of this study is to analyze the current design from Korea Gas Safety code (KG FP211 2021) of reinforced concrete protection wall (Fig. 1) under hydrogen tank explosion. To analysis the response of the protection wall under hydrogen tank explosion trinitrotoluene (TNT) equivalent method was used and simulation was done with commercial software ANSYS LS-DYNA solver.



Blast scenario was assumed to be explosion of hydrogen tank nearby reinforced protection wall (Fig.2). Recently implemented coupling method in LS-DYNA allows empirical explosive blast loads to apply to air domains treated with the multi-material Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian (ALE) formulation was used. The widely used concrete model implemented in LS-DYNA for blast laod, the Karagozian & Case (K&C) concrete material model was used. All constitutive material parameters generated by the model was used by giving the unconfined compressive strength of the concrete material.



Protection wall with different thickness, compressive strength were analyzed under blast load. To improve the effect of blast load on the protection wall, H-beam was used as a composite structure. Damage on protection wall with different condition was analyzed. Recommendation for the current practice of protection wall in Korea has been analyzed. Erode volume fraction was analyzed from the simulation results. It was conformed that if the thickness of protection wall increased, composite material was used then the erode volume fraction and the damage on the protection wall decreased.