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http://dx.doi.org/10.14346/JKOSOS.2021.36.4.71

An Experimental Study on the Explosion Hazards in the Fuel Cell Room of Residential House  

Park, Byoungjik (Hydrogen-infra. Research Cluster, Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology)
Kim, Yangkyun (Hydrogen-infra. Research Cluster, Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology)
Hwang, Inju (Hydrogen-infra. Research Cluster, Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology)
Publication Information
Journal of the Korean Society of Safety / v.36, no.4, 2021 , pp. 71-79 More about this Journal
Abstract
In this study, a real-scale fuel-cell room of volume 1.36 m3 is constructed to confirm the explosion characteristics of hydrogen-air mixture gas in a hydrogen-powered house. A volume concentration of 40% is applied in the fuel-cell room as the worst-case scenario to examine the most severe accident possible, and two types of doors (made of plastic sheet and wood) are fabricated to observe their effects on the overpressure and impulse. The peak overpressure and impulse based on distance from the ignition source are experimentally observed and assessed. The maximum and minimum overpressures with a plastic-sheet door are about 20 and 6.7 kPa and those with a wooden door are about 46 and 13 kPa at distances of 1 and 5 m from the ignition source, respectively. The ranges of impulses for distances of 1-5 m from the ignition source are about 82-28 Pa·s with a plastic-sheet door and 101-28 Pa·s with a wooden door. The amount of damage to people, buildings, and property due to the peak overpressure and impulse is presented to determine the safe distance; accordingly, the safe distance to prevent harm to humans is about 5 m based on the 'injuries' class, but the structural damage was not serious.
Keywords
hydrogen housing; deflagration; hydrogen explosion; blast wave; peak overpressure;
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