Hydrogen Release Behavior

Sandia’s hydrogen safety codes and standards research program develops the technical data and scientific understanding to inform science-based improvements to the codes and standards that define the safe use of hydrogen.

Research includes studies on the fundamental behavior and characteristics of a hydrogen release, such as dispersion, accumulation, ignition, flame radiation, and overpressure. The team also develops models to describe these phenomena and generates high-fidelity data to validate and verify models.

Turbulent Combustion Laboratory 

The Turbulent Combustion Laboratory (TCL) at the Livermore, CA site provides a well-controlled, lab-scale environment for testing hydrogen release characteristics. Outfitted with several lasers, the TCL is uniquely suited to make high-fidelity, non-intrusive measurements of hydrogen release and combustion phenomena. The optical diagnostics employed in this laboratory include line-imaged Raman scattering, Rayleigh scattering, laser-induced fluorescence, particle imaging velocimetry, and Schlieren flow visualization. These optical diagnostics are applied to both high-pressure and cryogenic hydrogen releases. 

Large Scale Releases 

Staff at Sandia team with researchers from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) to apply optical diagnostics to large-scale releases from a liquid hydrogen tank at LLNL. These large-scale releases allow models to be evaluated in a realistic environment at higher flowrates than can be achieved in the lab.  Large scale studies also take place at several facilities at the Albuquerque, NM site.  For example, the pooling and vaporization of liquid hydrogen can be studied at the Thunder Range test site within a large, enclosed shock tube where the crosswind can be well-controlled. 

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