A CFD-based approach for gas detectors allocation

Accidental gas releases are detected by allocating sensors in optimal places to prevent escalation of the incident. Gas release effects are typically assessed based on calculating the dispersion from releasing points. In this work, a CFD-based approach is proposed to estimate gas dispersion and then to obtain optimal gas sensors allocation. The Ansys-Fluent commercial package is used to estimate concentrations in the open air by solving the governing equations of continuity, momentum, energy and species convection-diffusion combined with the realizable κ-ε model for turbulence viscosity effects. CFD dynamic simulations are carried out for potential gas leaks, assuming worst-case scenarios with F-stability and 2 m/s wind speed during a 4 min releasing period and considering 8 wind directions. The result is a scenario-based methodology to allocate gas sensors supported on fluid dynamics models. The three x–y–z geographical coordinates for the sensor allocation are included in this analysis. To highlight the methodology, a case study considers releases from a large container surrounded by different types of geometric units including sections with high obstacles, low obstacles, and no obstacles. A non-redundant set of perfect sensors are firstly allocated to cover completely the detection for all simulations releases. The benefits of redundant detection via a MooN voting arranging scheme is also discussed. Numerical results demonstrate the capabilities of CFD simulations for this application and highlight the dispersion effects through obstacles with different sizes.