Dispersion and Burning Behavior of Hydrogen Released in a Full-Scale Residential Garage in the Presence and Absence of Conventional Automobiles – Supplemental Video Materials

1. Summary

The supplemental materials reported here provide standard high-definition (HD), high-speed, and infrared videos of the 13 full-scale hydrogen dispersion and burning experiments on which Ref. [1] is based. References [1] and [2] provide detailed descriptions of the experimental conditions under which these videos were taken. The videos show different burning dynamics of various hydrogen/air mixtures in the presence and absence of vehicles parked inside the garage. The test identification (ID) numbers associated with the filenames of the data folders correspond to those in Table 1 of Ref. [1]. The number, types, and locations of the videos varies from test-to-test.

2. Data Specifications

NIST Operating Unit(s)	Engineering Laboratory and Fire Research Division
Format	Mpg or divx
Instrument	Standard high-definition, high-speed, and infrared video cameras
Spatial or Temporal Elements	N/A
Data Dictionary	https://www.nist.gov/el/fire-research-division-73300/dispersion-and-burning-behavior-hydrogen-released-full-scale
Accessibility	All datasets submitted to Journal of Research of NIST are publicly available.
License	The videos were produced under NIST contract number SB134109SE0612 and are not subject to copyright protection within the United States.

3. Methods

The experiments from which the videos were obtained were conducted at Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), San Antonio, Texas under contract to NIST [1, 2]. The experimental series was part of the NIST Hydrogen Fire Safety program. The experiments were conducted using a specially constructed stand-alone garage with the garage door closed. Hydrogen was released through a distribution port located flush with the floor at the center of the garage. Several tests were run in which a conventional automobile (various makes and models) with an empty gasoline tank and all windows and doors closed were parked in the garage centered over the hydrogen release. The hydrogen release scenario assumed a constant leak rate sufficient to release 5 kg (a typical amount for full tanks on current hydrogen-fueled automobiles) in 1 h. When the hydrogen concentration reached a specified value at a specific location near the garage ceiling, ignition of the hydrogen/air mixture was initiated using an 80 J squib charge. The entire period during the burning process was recorded using digital hand-held still cameras with video capability, standard high-definition (HD) video cameras, a Raytheon Model TVS-620U infrared (IR) video camera¹, and a Vision Research Phantom v5.1C high-speed camera operating at 1 kHz. At various times, cameras were placed inside the test garage (protected by a plastic housing) near the floor in the rear right corner (HD camera), at the side windows of the garage viewing the ignition area or the center region (HD and/or IR), and at outside positions located at various distances and angles from the garage (HD, high-speed, and digital hand-held cameras).

4. Impact

The videos, which are supplemental materials to Ref. [1], together with Refs. [1, 2] will provide hydrogen fire safety data for future standard and code development for residential garages for hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles to mitigate fire hazards.

Biography

About the authors: William M. Pitts is a research chemist in the Fire Research Division at NIST. Jiann C. Yang is Deputy Division Chief in the Fire Research Division at NIST. Kuldeep Prasad is a research mechanical engineer in the Fire Research Division at NIST. Marco Fernandez is an engineering technician in the Fire Research Division at NIST. The National Institute of Standards and Technology is an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce.