Sandia Energy > Programs > Sustainable Transportation > Hydrogen and Fuel Cells > Hydrogen Safety, Codes, and Standards > HyRAM+ Hydrogen Plus Other Alternative Fuels Risk Assessment Models (HyRAM+) is a software toolkit that integrates publicly available data and models relevant to assessing the safety in the use, delivery, and storage infrastructure of hydrogen and other alternative fuels (i.e., methane and propane). The HyRAM+ risk assessment calculations incorporate probabilities of equipment failures for different components for both compressed gaseous and liquefied fuels, and probabilistic models for the effect of heat flux and overpressure on people. HyRAM+ also incorporates experimentally-validated models of various aspects of release behavior and flame physics. The HyRAM+ toolkit can be used to support multiple types of analysis, including code and standards development, safety basis development, facility safety planning, and stakeholder engagement. HyRAM+ was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency (EERE) Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office (HFTO), the DOE EERE Vehicles Technologies Office (VTO), and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA). The HyRAM+ software is available under an open source license. Access the source code for HyRAM+ via GitHub Download the most recent build of the Windows-only installer Note: please completely uninstall any previous versions of HyRAM or HyRAM+ before installing. Overview Features Default data for gaseous and liquid hydrogen, gaseous and liquid methane (as a proxy for natural gas), and propane systems modifiable by users: component leak frequencies ignition probability Models of physical effects for consequence modeling: Unignited release behavior Buoyant jet Accumulation in enclosure Ignited release behavior Jet fire trajectory, temperature, and radiative heat flux Overpressure within enclosures Unconfined overpressure from the delayed ignition of a buoyant jet Probabilistic models for human harm from thermal and overpressure hazards Fast running: to accommodate rapid iteration Calculates common risk metrics for user-defined systems Risk contributions for individual leak scenarios Frequency of cut sets Example Usage Given a user-defined system, risk analysts can use HyRAM+ to answer the following types of questions: How would changes to system design affect overall risk/safety? Which design is the safest? What is the likelihood of a release from an installation? How likely is it that a jet fire or deflagration would occur? What is the heat flux from a jet flame associated with a specific release? At what distance does the concentration reach a no-ignition threshold? Documentation Current Documentation Suggested citation for HyRAM+ 5.1.1: Brian D. Ehrhart, Cianan Sims, Ethan S. Hecht, Benjamin B. Schroeder, Benjamin R. Liu, Katrina M. Groth, John T. Reynolds, and Gregory W. Walkup. HyRAM+ (Hydrogen Plus Other Alternative Fuels Risk Assessment Models), Version 5.1.1. Sandia National Laboratories (February 8, 2024); software available at: https://hyram.sandia.gov. Brian D. Ehrhart, Ethan S. Hecht, and Benjamin B. Schroeder. Hydrogen Plus Other Alternative Fuels Risk Assessment Models (HyRAM+) Version 5.1 Technical Reference Manual. SAND2023-14224, December 2023. Michael C. Devin, Brian D. Ehrhart, and Ethan S. Hecht. Validation of HyRAM+ Version 5.1 Physics Models. SAND2024-14886, October 2024. Robert I. Contreras and Brian D. Ehrhart. HyRAM+ Version 5.0 User Guide. SAND2023-13912, November 2023. Historical Documentation Brian D. Ehrhart and Ethan S. Hecht. Hydrogen Plus Other Alternative Fuels Risk Assessment Models (HyRAM+) Version 5.0 Technical Reference Manual. SAND2022-16425, November 2022. Brian D. Ehrhart and Ethan S. Hecht. Hydrogen Plus Other Alternative Fuels Risk Assessment Models (HyRAM+) Version 4.1 Technical Reference Manual. SAND2022-5649, April 2022. Ethan S. Hecht, Brian D. Ehrhart, and Katrina M. Groth. Hydrogen Plus Other Alternative Fuels Risk Assessment Models (HyRAM+) Version 4.0 Technical Reference Manual. SAND2021-14813, November 2021. Brian D. Ehrhart, Ethan S. Hecht, and Katrina M. Groth. Hydrogen Risk Assessment Models (HyRAM) Version 3.1 Technical Reference Manual. SAND2021-5812, May 2021. D. Ehrhart, Ethan S. Hecht, and Katrina M. Groth. Hydrogen Risk Assessment Models (HyRAM) Version 3.0 Technical Reference Manual. SAND2020-10600, September 2020. Guillermo Feliciano Morales, Brian D. Ehrhart, and Alice B. Muna. HyRAM V2.0 User Guide. SAND2019-8940, July 2019. Ethan A. Sena, Brian D. Ehrhart, and Alice B. Muna. HyRAM V1.1 User Guide. SAND2018-0749, January 2018. Katrina M. Groth, Ethan S. Hecht, John T. Reynolds, Myra L. Blaylock, and Erin E. Carrier. Methodology for assessing the safety of Hydrogen Systems: HyRAM 1.1 Technical Reference Manual. SAND2017-2998, March 2017 Katrina M. Groth, Hannah R. Zumwalt, and Andrew J. Clark. HyRAM V1.0 User Guide. SAND2016-3385 R, March 2016. Katrina M. Groth, Ethan S. Hecht, and John T. Reynolds. Methodology for assessing the safety of Hydrogen Systems: HyRAM 1.0 technical reference manual. SAND2015-10216, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM, November 2015. References Webinars Brian Ehrhart, Dusty Brooks, and Ethan Hecht. Hydrogen Plus Other Alternative Fuels Risk Assessment Models (HyRAM+) for LNG Facilities. DOT PHMSA Research Program Presentation, March 3, 2022. Brian D. Ehrhart, Ethan S. Hecht, Alice B. Muna, and Chris B. LaFleur. Hydrogen Risk Assessment Models 2.0: Open-source quantitative risk assessment framework. Fuel Cell Technologies Office Webinar, January 28, 2020. Katrina M. Groth. Overview of HyRAM (Hydrogen Risk Assessment Models) Software for Science-Based Safety, Codes, and Standards. Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Fuel Cell Technologies Office Webinar, April 26, 2016. Journal Articles Katrina M. Groth and Ethan S. Hecht. HyRAM: A methodology and toolkit for Quantitative Risk Assessment of hydrogen systems, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 42, 7485-7493, 2017. Jeffrey LaChance, Andrei Tchouvelev, and Angunn Engebo. Development of uniform harm criteria for use in quantitative risk analysis of the hydrogen infrastructure, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 36 (3), 2381-2388, 2011. Technical Reports Dusty Brooks and Brian D. Ehrhart. LPG Component Leak Frequency Estimation. SAND2023-05818, July 2023. Dusty Brooks, Austin Glover, and Brian D. Ehrhart. Compressed natural gas component leak frequency estimation. SAND2022-14164, October 2022. Garrett W. Mulcahy, Dusty M. Brooks, and Brian D. Ehrhart. Using Bayesian Methodology to Estimate Liquefied Natural Gas Leak Frequencies. SAND2021-4905, April 2021. Jessica G. Shum, Ethan S. Hecht, and Myra L. Blaylock. Validation of the HyRAM+ physics models for use with propane. SAND2021-3244, March 2021. Austin Glover, Austin Baird, and Dusty Brooks. Final Report on Hydrogen Plant Hazards and Risk Analysis Supporting Hydrogen Plant Siting near Nuclear Power Plants. SAND2020-10828, October 2020. Cyrus J. Jordan, Ethan S. Hecht, and Myra L. Blaylock. Validation of the AItRAM physics models for use with compressed natural gas. SAND2019-13408, October 2019. Katrina M. Groth, Jeffrey L. LaChance, and Aaron P. Harris. Early-Stage Quantitative Risk Assessment to Support Development of Codes and Standard Requirements for Indoor Fueling of Hydrogen Vehicles. SAND2012-10150, November 2012. Jeffrey LaChance, William Houf, Bobby Middleton, and Larry Fluer. Analyses to Support Development of Risk-Informed Separation Distances for Hydrogen Codes and Standards. SAND2009-0874, March 2009. Conference Papers D.M. Brooks, B.D. Ehrhart, and C. LaFleur. Development of liquid hydrogen leak frequencies using a Bayesian update process in Proceedings of the 2021 International Conference on Hydrogen Safety (ICHS 2021), September 2021. Katrina M. Groth and Ethan S. Hecht. HyRAM: A methodology and toolkit for Quantitative Risk Assessment of Hydrogen Systems in Proceedings of the International Conference on Hydrogen Safety (ICHS 2015) Yokohama, Japan, October 19-21, 2015. K. M. Groth and A. V. Tchouvelev. A toolkit for integrated deterministic and probabilistic risk assessment for hydrogen infrastructure in Proceedings of the International Conference on Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Management (PSAM 12) Honolulu, HI, June 22-27, 2014. Contact Brian EhrhartHyRAM+ Team Lead(505) 284-4906bdehrha@sandia.gov Ethan HechtHydrogen Behavior Expert(925) 294-3741ehecht@sandia.gov