Developing a CFD heat transfer model for applying high expansion foam in an LNG spill

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is widely used to cost-effectively store and transport natural gas. However, a spill of LNG can create a vapor cloud, which can potentially cause fire and explosion. High expansion (HEX) foam is recommended by the NFPA 11 to mitigate the vapor hazard and control LNG pool fire. In this study, the parameters that affect HEX foam performance were examined using lab-scale testing of foam temperature profile and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling of heat transfer in vapor channels. A heat transfer model using ANSYS Fluent® was developed to estimate the minimum HEX foam height that allows the vapors from LNG spillage to disperse rapidly. We also performed a sensitivity analysis on the effect of the vaporization rate, the diameter of the vapor channel, and the heat transfer coefficient on the required minimum height of the HEX foam. It can be observed that at least 1.2 m of HEX foam in height are needed to achieve risk mitigation in a typical situation. The simulation results can be used not only for understanding the heat transfer mechanisms when applying HEX foam but also for suggesting to the LNG facility operator how much HEX foam they need for effective risk mitigation under different conditions.     

高温热表面油液蒸发的时变性热质传递模型与实验研究

针对高温热表面油液蒸发热质传递过程的时变性,考虑这一过程中的对流传质传热,建立了热环境作用下油液蒸发的热质传递模型方程,通过无量纲变换,求得空间浓度分布和温度场随时间的变化规律。以庚烷为试验对象,对高温热表面油液蒸发过程进行了实验研究。理论分析与实验表明:庚烷蒸发过程中,刘易斯数大于1,传热速率大于传质速率;蒸发导致的质量损失与时间平方根的成正比,与液面的面积成正比,且与质量扩散系数的平方根成正比,饱和蒸气浓度越大,蒸发速率也越大。油液蒸发计算结果与试验结果基本一致,表明了模型的有效性。     

Experimental study of the evaporation of spreading liquid nitrogen

The investigation of cryogenic liquid pool spreading is an essential procedure to assess the hazard of cryogenic liquid usage. There is a wide range of models used to describe the spreading of a cryogenic liquid pool. Many of these models require the evaporation velocity, which has to be determined experimentally because the heat transfer process between the liquid pool and the surroundings is too complicated to be modeled. In this experimental study, to measure the evaporation velocity when the pool is spreading, liquid nitrogen was continuously released onto unconfined concrete ground. Almost all of the reported results are based on a non-spreading pool in which cryogenic liquid is instantaneously poured onto bounded ground for a very short period of time. For the precise measurement of pool spreading and evaporation weight with time, a cone-type funnel was designed to achieve a nearly constant liquid nitrogen release rate during discharge. Specifically, three nozzles with nominal flow rates of 3.4 × 10⁻² kg/s, 5.6 × 10⁻² kg/s and 9.0 × 10⁻² kg/s were used to investigate the effect of the release rate on the evaporation velocity. It is noted that information about the release rate is not necessary to measure the evaporation velocity in case of the non-spreading pool. A simultaneous measurement of the pool location using thermocouples and of the pool mass using a digital balance was carried out to measure the evaporation velocity and the pool radius. A greater release flow rate was found to result in a greater average evaporation velocity, and the evaporation velocity decreased with the spreading time and the pool radius.     

液氮泡沫发生器内流动特性研究

低温液氮与泡沫混合液直接接触产生氮气泡沫是一种新型的掺混形式,利用液氮高汽化比的特点,搭建液氮泡沫可视化实验装置,进行氮气-水两相流及液氮泡沫流动特性的研究。结果表明,液氮相变产生大量氮气,其与泡沫液混合产生泡沫,温度有所回升,最终趋于泡沫混合液温度;管路沿程压降较小;液氮射流破碎及流动过程可分为6个区域:低温液氮区、向上循环翻滚区、滞留区、泡沫与泡沫混合液混合区、致密泡沫区、泡沫混合液区。流体向下游流动过程中持续发泡;为防止管路结冰,需合理控制泡沫混合液与液氮流量。     

密度对聚氨酯软泡收缩及燃烧行为的影响

采用锥形量热仪研究不同密度聚氨酯软泡(FPUF)的燃烧行为,并根据摄像、体视显微镜所观察的样品形体及泡孔结构的变化来研究火灾条件下FPUF的收缩特性。研究结果表明,收缩是表层泡孔受热发生热解生成焦油所致的泡孔塌缩现象,焦油层下方泡孔结构基本没有变化;FPUF密度越大着火前的收缩速率越小,同一时刻表层泡孔热解生成的焦油层越薄。FPUF的着火燃烧可分为受热收缩、燃烧收缩和池火燃烧三个阶段。中高密度样品HRR曲线先出现平台后出现峰值,分别对应于燃烧收缩和池火阶段,且密度越大HRR曲线的平台越低、峰值越高,燃烧收缩阶段的FIGRA越小,而池火燃烧阶段的FIGRA越大。着火前的快速收缩导致低密度样品的HRR曲线不出现平台只呈现单峰。     

The characterization of heat transfer fluid P-NF aerosol combustion: Ignitable region and flame development

Heat transfer fluids tend to form aerosols due to the operating conditions at high pressure when accidental leaking occurs in pipelines or storage vessels, which may cause serious fires and explosions. Due to the physical property complexity of aerosols, it is difficult to define a standard term of “flammability limits” as is possible for gases. The study discussed in this paper primarily focuses on the characterization of ignition conditions and flame development of heat transfer fluid aerosols. The flammable region of a widely-used commercial heat transfer fluid, Paratherm NF (P-NF), was analyzed by electro-spray generation with a laser diffraction particle analysis method. The aerosol ignition behavior depends on the droplet size and concentration of the aerosol. From the adjustment of differently applied electro-spray voltages (7–10 kV) and various liquid feeding rates, a flammable condition distribution was obtained by comparison of droplet size and concentration. An appropriate amount (0.3–1.2 ppm) of smaller droplets (80–110 μm) existing in a given space could result in successful flame formation, while larger droplets (up to 190 μm) have a relatively narrowed range of flammable conditions (0.7–0.9 ppm). It is possible to generate a more useful reference for industry and lab scale consideration when handling liquids. This paper provides initial flammability criteria for analyzing P-NF aerosol fire hazards in terms of droplet size and volumetric concentration, discusses the observation of aerosol combustion processes, and summarizes an ignition delay phenomenon. All of the fundamental study results are to be applied to practical cases with fire hazards analysis, pressurized liquid handling, and mitigation system design once there is a better understanding of aerosols formed by high-flash point materials.     

Validation of liquid nitrogen vaporisation rate by small scale experiments and analysis of the conductive heat flux from the concrete

The vaporisation of a liquid nitrogen pool spilled on concrete ground was investigated in small scale field experiments. The pool vaporisation rate and the heat transfer from the concrete ground were measured using a balance and a set of embedded heat flux sensors and thermocouples. The ability to predict the concrete's thermal properties based on these measurements was investigated. This work showed that a simple, one-dimensional theoretical model, assuming heat conduction through a semi-infinite ground with ideal contact between the cryogenic liquid and the ground, commonly used to describe the heat transfer from a ground to the LNG, can be used to match the observed vaporisation rate. Though estimated parameters, thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity, do not necessary represent real values. Although the observed vaporization rate follows a linear trend, and thus can be well represented by the model, the overall model prediction seems to be overestimated. The temperature profile inside the concrete is slightly over-predicted at the beginning and under-predicted at later stage of the spill. This might be an effect of the dependence of the concrete's thermal properties on the temperature or may indicate an incorrect modelling and a varying temperature of the ground surface.     

低温液体在水中快速相变过程流动与传热数值模拟

用试验和理论分析的方法对快速相变爆炸强度的预测缺乏定量模型,因此建立了一种欧拉-欧拉双流体多相流模型与传热模型相互耦合的数值模型,并通过与Clarke H将液氮喷射入水的快速相变试验数据对比来验证模型的可靠性和正确性。通过数值计算得出快速相变过程中流场、压力场、温度场随时间变化的情况,探讨了快速相变的传热机理。结果表明:快速相变是强制对流、膜态沸腾、爆发沸腾和核态沸腾之间的转换过程;相间换热系数随时间的无量纲变化关系可以用3个高斯分布的叠加来描述。     

高温高湿巷道内不稳定换热系数影响因素分析及模型建立*

为研究高温高湿巷道不稳定换热系数的变化规律,采用Fluent软件对高温高湿巷道内的热湿交换进行数值模拟,通过单因素和正交模拟实验探讨风流温度、风流速度、岩石导热系数、原岩温度以及巷道当量直径对高温高湿巷道不稳定换热系数的影响。研究结果表明:高温高湿巷道不稳定换热系数随时间的变化规律与普通巷道一致,均与通风时间呈负相关,但通风时间为1 a的高温高湿巷道不稳定换热系数较普通巷道增加了12.5%。通过单因素分析得到风流速度、岩石导热系数和当量直径与不稳定换热系数呈正相关。通过极差分析得到各因素对不稳定换热系数的影响程度为:岩石导热系数>当量直径>风流速度>风流温度>原岩温度。利用SPSS软件对正交实验数据进行拟合,建立不稳定换热系数的计算模型,拟为高温高湿巷道内热负荷计算及井下风温预测提供参考。