Parametric Study on Natural Gas Leakage and Diffusion in Tunnels
Publication: Journal of Pipeline Systems Engineering and Practice
Volume 14, Issue 2
Abstract
With the progressive rise in energy demand, the scale of oil and gas pipelines continues to increase. Tunnels have been developed to plan the space reasonably and to reduce pipeline maintenance and repair difficulties. However, for natural gas pipes laid in the tunnel, leakage accidents can cause severe results. Based on the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) theory, the leakage and diffusion characteristics of natural gas in tunnels under various scenarios are analyzed using flame acceleration simulation (FLACS) software. It can be concluded that (1) natural gas leakage in the tunnel can result in the occurrence of self-suffocation, where small-hole leaks pose a greater threat than large-hole leaks, which clearly differs from leaks into open rooms; (2) the larger the leakage diameter, the shorter the tunnel and the higher the chance of self-suffocation happening; (3) the flammable gas mass in a tunnel depends on several factors, including gas leak rate, gas mixing rate, diffusion rate between gas with higher concentrations and gas with much lower concentrations, and the gas diffusion rate as it exits the tunnel; (4) when a leakage hole is in the middle of the tunnel and the leakage direction is upward, there is the greatest danger; and (5) for the same tunnel length, the larger the leakage diameter, the smaller the flammable gas mass. The study presents the characteristics of natural gas diffusion in a tunnel and offers suggestions for leakage accident emergency repair.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
This work is funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (52174062), the Chongqing Key Laboratory of Fire and Explosion Safety (The Evaluating Laboratory of Military Oil Depot Safety and Facility Equipment, LQ21KFJJ01) and PipeChina Ltd. (2020B-3106-0502). We would also like to thank Gexcon China for providing the license of FLACS software and technical support.
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Published In
Journal of Pipeline Systems Engineering and Practice
Volume 14 • Issue 2 • May 2023
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© 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jun 19, 2022
Accepted: Nov 18, 2022
Published online: Jan 11, 2023
Published in print: May 1, 2023
Discussion open until: Jun 11, 2023
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