Simulation of the Gas Distribution Law and Operational Risk Analysis of a Vertical Gas Tank in a Ventilation State

As a type of airtight equipment, vertical gas tanks are prone to accumulations of toxic and harmful gases due to their poor ventilation and narrow space. This poses many safety hazards. Therefore, we conducted a FLUENT simulation for vertical gas tanks with different diameters. The results indicated...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Chunli Yang, Yinqing Wang, Yan Liu, Xiangchun Li
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-09-01
Series:Energies
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/19/6855
Description
Summary:As a type of airtight equipment, vertical gas tanks are prone to accumulations of toxic and harmful gases due to their poor ventilation and narrow space. This poses many safety hazards. Therefore, we conducted a FLUENT simulation for vertical gas tanks with different diameters. The results indicated that the larger the diameter, the longer the required ventilation time. It was necessary to monitor the gas concentration after ventilation for at least 6 h when the tank diameter was 2.6 m, after ventilation for at least 24 h when the tank diameter was 5.2 m, and after ventilation for at least 80 h when the tank diameter was 7.8 m. To ensure comprehensive monitoring, at least one monitoring point was required to be placed at the upper and lower ends of the vertical gas tank, respectively. Monitoring was initiated after these requirements were reached. A theoretical numerical analysis and an experimental verification analysis were conducted on the simulation results. The variation trend of the simulation value, the theoretical value, and the experimental test value were the same. The measured value of the ventilation duration was greater than the theoretical value of the ventilation duration and the simulation value of the ventilation duration. Therefore, the simulation results and theoretical analysis could be used for a risk analysis of gas tanks. The determination of ventilation characteristics via a simulation of vertical gas tanks has a practical significance when guiding on-site operations.
ISSN:1996-1073