• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.188-193
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• 2009

Fuel cell vehicles are equipped with Pressure Relief Devices(PRDs) installed in pressure tank cylinder to prevent the explosion of the tank during a fire. PRDs are safety devices that perceive a fire and release gas in the pressure tank cylinder before it is exploded. But if the PRD does not actuate, because either the PRD fails or can't be surrounded by the flame of a fire, the tank will rupture and produce a blast wave and hydrogen fire ball. In this paper, we observed the fire behavior of actual fuel cell vehicle, comparing with that of gasoline vehicle.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.47-60
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• 2021

Hydrogen is a next-generation energy source, and according to the roadmap for activating the hydrogen economy, it is expected that industries to stably produce, store, and transport of hydrogen as well as the supply of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles will be made rapidly. Accordingly, safety measures for accidents of hydrogen vehicles in confined spaces such as tunnels are required. In this study, as part of a study to ensure the safety of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in road tunnels, a basic investigation and research on the risk of fire and explosion due to gas leakage and hydrogen tank rupture among various hazards caused by hydrogen fuel cell vehicle accidents in tunnels was conducted. The following results were obtained. In the event of hydrogen fuel cell vehicle accidents, the gas release rate depends on the orifice diameter of TPRD, and when the gas is ignited, the maximum heat release rate reaches 3.22~51.36 MW (orifice diameter: 1~4 mm) depending on the orifice diameter but the duration times are short. Therefore, it was analyzed that there was little increase in risk due to fire. As the overpressure of the gas explosion was calculated by the equivalent TNT method, in the case of yield of VCE of 0.2 is applied, the safety threshold distance is analyzed to be about 35 m, and number of the equivalent fatalities are conservatively predicted to reach tens of people.