Hydrogen safety is a relevant topic for both nuclear fission and fusion power plants. Hydrogen generated in the course of a severe accident may endanger the integrity of safety barriers and may result in radioactive releases. In the case of the ITER fusion facility, accident scenarios with water ingress consider the release of hydrogen into the suppression tank (ST) of the vacuum vessel pressure suppression system (VVPSS). Under the assumption of additional air ingress, the formation of flammable gas mixtures may lead to explosions and safety component failure.

The installation of passive auto-catalytic recombiners (PARs) inside the ST, which are presently used as safety devices inside the containments of nuclear fission reactors, is one option under consideration to mitigate such a scenario. PARs convert hydrogen into water vapor by means of passive mechanisms and have been qualified for operation under the conditions of a nuclear power plant accident since the 1990s.

In order to support on-going hydrogen safety considerations, simulations of accident scenarios using the CFD code ANSYS-CFX are foreseen. In this context, the in-house code REKO-DIREKT is coupled to CFX to simulate PAR operation. However, the operational boundary conditions for hydrogen recombination (e.g. temperature, pressure, gas mixture) of a fusion reactor scenario differ significantly from those of a fission reactor. In order to enhance the code towards realistic PAR operation, a series of experiments has been performed in the REKO-4 facility with specific focus on ITER conditions. These specifically include operation under sub-atmospheric pressure (0.2 – 1.0 bar), gas compositions ranging from lean to rich H2/O2 mixtures, and superposed flow conditions.

The paper gives an overview of the experimental program, presents results achieved and describes the modeling approach towards accident scenario simulation.

The detection of hydrogen gas is essential in ensuring the safety of nuclear plants. However, events at Fukushima Daiichi NPP highlighted the vulnerability of conventional detection systems to extreme events, where power may be lost. Herein, chemochromic hydrogen sensors have been fabricated using transition metal oxide thin films, sensitised with a palladium catalyst, to provide passive hydrogen detection systems that would be resilient to any plant power failures. To assess their viability for nuclear safety applications, these sensors have been gamma-irradiated to four total doses (0, 5, 20, 50 kGy) using a Co-60 gamma radioisotope. Optical properties of both un-irradiated and irradiated samples were investigated to compare the effect of increased radiation dose on the sensors resultant colour change. The results suggest that gamma irradiation, at the levels examined (>5 kGy), has a significant effect on the initial colour of the thin films and has a negative effect on the hydrogen sensing abilities.

Catalytic hydrogen-oxygen recombination is a non-traditional method to limit hydrogen accumulation and prevent combustion in the hydrogen industry. Outside of conventional use in the nuclear power industry, this hydrogen safety technology can be applied when traditional hydrogen mitigation methods (i.e., active and natural ventilation) are not appropriate or when a back-up system is required. In many of these cases it is desirable for hydrogen to be removed without the use of power or other services, which makes catalytic hydrogen recombination attractive. Instances where catalytic recombination of hydrogen can be utilized as a stand-alone or back-up measure to prevent hydrogen accumulation include radioactive waste storage (hydrogen generated from water radiolysis or material corrosion), battery rooms, hydrogen-cooled generators, hydrogen equipment enclosures, etc.

Water tolerant hydrogen-oxygen recombiner catalysts for non-nuclear applications have been developed at Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) through a program in which catalyst materials were selected, prepared and initially tested in a spinning-basket type reactor to benchmark the catalyst’s performance with respect to hydrogen recombination in dry and humid conditions. Catalysts demonstrating high activity for hydrogen recombination were then selected and tested in trickle-bed and gas phase recombiner systems to determine their performance in more typical deployment conditions. Future plans include testing of selected catalysts after exposure to specific poisons to determine the catalysts’ tolerance for such poisons.

Deflagration-to-Detonation Transition Ratio (DDTR) is an important parameter in measuring the hazard of hydrogen detonation at given thermodynamic conditions. It’s among the major tasks to evaluate DDTR in the study of hydrogen safety in a nuclear containment. With CFD tools, detailed distribution of thermodynamic parameters at each instant can be simulated with considerable reliability. Then DDTR can be estimated using related CFD output. Forstochastic or epistemic reasons, uncertainty always exists in input parameters during computations. This lack of accuracy can finally be reflected in the uncertainty of computation results, e.g. DDTR in our consideration. The analysis of the influence of the input uncertainty is therefore a key step to understand the model’s response on the output and possibly to improve the accuracy. The increase of computational power makes it possible to perform statistics-based sensitivity and uncertainty (SU) analysis on CFD simulations. This paper aims at presenting some ideas on the procedure in safety analysis on hydrogen in nuclear containment. A hydrogen recombiner case is constructed and simulated with CFD method. DDTR at each instant is computed using a semi-empirical method. RBD-FAST based SU analysis is performed on the result.

The efficiency of gas sensor application for facilitating the safe use of hydrogen depends considerably on the sensor response to a change in hydrogen concentration. Therefore, the response time has been measured for five different-type commercially available hydrogen sensors. Experiments showed that all these sensors surpass the ISO 26142 standard; for the response times t90 values of 2 s to 16 s were estimated. Results can be fitted with an exponential or sigmoidal function. It can be demonstrated that the results on transient behaviour depend on both the operating parameters of sensors and investigation methods, as well as on the experimental conditions: gas change rate and concentration jump.

Certification of hydrogen sensors to standards often prescribes using large-volume test chambers [1, 2]. However, feedback from stakeholders such as sensor manufacturers and end-users indicate that chamber test methods are often viewed as too slow and expensive for routine assessment. Flow through test methods potentially are an efficient, cost-effective alternative for sensor performance assessment. A large number of sensors can be simultaneously tested, in series or in parallel, with an appropriate flow through test fixture. The recent development of sensors with response times of less than 1s mandates improvements in equipment and methodology to properly capture the performance of this new generation of fast sensors; flow methods are a viable approach for accurate response and recovery time determinations, but there are potential drawbacks. According to ISO 26142 [1], flow through test methods may not properly simulate ambient applications. In chamber test methods, gas transport to the sensor can be dominated by diffusion which is viewed by some users as mimicking deployment in rooms and other confined spaces. Alternatively, in flow through methods, forced flow transports the gas to the sensing element. The advective flow dynamics may induce changes in the sensor behaviour relative to the quasi-quiescent condition that may prevail in chamber test methods. One goal of the current activity in the JRC and NREL sensor laboratories [3, 4] is to develop a validated flow through apparatus and methods for hydrogen sensor performance testing. In addition to minimizing the impact on sensor behaviour induced by differences in flow dynamics, challenges associated with flow through methods include the ability to control environmental parameters (humidity, pressure and temperature) during the test and changes in the test gas composition induced by chemical reactions with upstream sensors. Guidelines on flow through test apparatus design and protocols for the evaluation of hydrogen sensor performance are being developed. Various commercial sensor platforms (e.g., thermal conductivity, catalytic and metal semiconductor) were used to demonstrate the advantages and issues with the flow through methodology.

Hydrogen sensors are recognized as an important technology for facilitating the safe implementation of hydrogen as an alternative fuel, and there are numerous reports of a sensor alarm successfully preventing a potentially serious event. However, gaps in sensor metrological specifications, as well as in their performance for some applications, exist. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Fuel Cell Technologies Office published a short list of critical gaps in the 2007 and 2012 Multiyear Project Plans; more detailed gap analyses were independently performed by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). There have been, however, some significant advances in sensor technologies since these assessments, including the commercial availability of hydrogen sensors with fast response times (t90 < 1 s, which had been an elusive DOE target since 2007), improved robustness to chemical poisons, improved selectivity, and improved lifetime and stability. These improvements, however, have not been universal and typically pertain to select platforms or models. Moreover, as hydrogen markets grow and new applications are being explored, more demands will be imposed on sensor performance. The hydrogen sensor laboratories at NREL and the JRC are currently updating the hydrogen safety sensor gap analysis through direct interaction with international stakeholders in the hydrogen community, especially end users. NREL and the JRC are currently organizing a series of workshops (in Europe and the United States) with sensor developers, end-users, and other stakeholders in 2017 to identify technology gaps and to develop a path forward to address them. One workshop was held on May 10 in Brussels, Belgium, at the Headquarters of the Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking. A second workshop is planned at NREL in Golden, CO, USA. This paper reviews improvements in sensor technologies in the past 5 to 10 years, identifies gaps in sensor performance and use requirements, and identifies potential research strategies to address the gaps. The outcomes of the Hydrogen Sensors Workshops are also summarized.

Unlike four-wheel fuel-cell vehicles, fuel-cell motorcycles have little semi-closure space corresponding to the engine compartment of four-wheel fuel-cell vehicles. Furthermore, motorcycles may fall while parked or running. We conducted hydrogen concentration measurement and ignition tests to evaluate the feasibility of detecting leaks when hydrogen gas leaked from a fuel-cell motorcycle, as well as the risk of ignition. We found that the installation of hydrogen leak detectors is effective because it is possible to detect minute hydrogen leaks by installing leak detectors at appropriate points on the fuel cell motorcycle, and risks can be reduced by interrupting the hydrogen leak immediately after detection.

Hydrogen-air mixtures are flammable in a wide range of compositions and have a low ignition energy, compared to gaseous hydrocarbons. Due to its low density, high buoyancy, and diffusivity the mixing is strongly enhanced, which supports distribution into large volumes if accidentally released. Economically valuable discontinuous transportation over large distances is only expected using liquid hydrogen (LH2). Releases of LH2, at its low temperature (20.3 K at 0.1 MPa), have additional hazards besides the combustible character of gaseous hydrogen (GH2). Hazard assessment requires simulation tools capable of calculating the pool spreading as well as the gas distribution for safety assessments of existing the future liquid hydrogen facilities. Evaluating possible risks, the following process steps are useful:

1. Possible accident release scenarios need to be identified for a given plant layout.

2. Environmental boundary conditions such as wind conditions and humidity need to be identified and worst case scenarios have to be identified.

3. A model approach based on this information which is capable of simulating LH2 releases, vaporization rates and atmospheric dispersion of the gaseous hydrogen.

4. Evaluate and verify safety distances, identify new risks and/or extract certain design rules.

The process steps have been performed using the new validated 3D transient multiphase - multicomponent CFD model approach developed at Forschungszentrum Julich. A demonstration plant layout obtained from the IDEALHY project (Berstad et al.[1]) and two HAZID assessments (Hankinson et al.[2]) have been used for identifying a plant and a possible accident scenario. A general weather analysis at a possible location has been performed to identify weather conditions. Finally, a full transient parameter calculation has been set up, varying the LH2 release rate and the wind speed. The results have been analyzed and general conclusions have been derived.

The introduction of hydrogen to the commercial market as alterative fuel brings up safety concerns. Its storage in liquid or cryo-compressed state to achieve gravimetric efficiency involves additional risks and their study is crucial. This work aims to investigate the behavior of cryogenic hydrogen release and to study the factors that greatly affect vapor dispersion. We focus on the effect of ambient humidity and air’s components (nitrogen and oxygen) freezing, in order to indentify the conditions under which these factors have considerable influence. The study reveals that humidity reduces conspicuously the longitudinal distance of the Lower Flammability Limit (LFL). Simulations with liquid methane release have been also performed and compared to the liquid hydrogen simulations, in order to detect the differences in the behavior of the two fuels as far as the humidity effect is concerned. It is shown that in methane spills the buoyancy effect in presence of humidity is much smaller than in hydrogen spills and almost negligible.

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