Evaluation of an LES Code Against a Hydrogen Dispersion Experiment

Abstract

The Large Eddy Simulation (LES) methodology is used nowadays not only as a research tool, but also for practical applications. Given this fact, an LES code which specializes in turbulent dispersion problems has been developed. It has been incorporated into the well established in atmospheric and hydrogen dispersion applications ADREA-HF Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) code. In this study, the LES methodology is evaluated against a hydrogen release and dispersion experiment in a hallway that has ventilation openings. Results from Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes (RANS) methodology and from the Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) LES code are also included. The hydrogen concentration values predicted with ADREA-HF LES are very close to the measured ones, especially for the sensors close to the ceiling. The study includes comments about critical parameters used in the LES models, like the value of the Smagorinsky constant. Finally several advantages of the LES methodology are outlined.