Simple box model for dense-gas dispersion in a straight sloping channel

Area of Science:

• Fluid dynamics
• Environmental science
• Chemical engineering

Background:

• Dense gas releases pose significant environmental and safety risks.
• Accurate modeling of gas dispersion is crucial for hazard mitigation.
• Existing models often require extensive validation against experimental data.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a box model for simulating isothermal dense gas spreading on sloping surfaces.
• To compare numerical and analytical solutions of the model with experimental results.
• To investigate the influence of release geometry and entrainment assumptions on gas dispersion.

Main Methods:

• Development of a one-dimensional box model for dense gas spreading.
• Numerical and approximate analytical solutions of the model equations.
• Comparison with experimental data from a sloping heavy-gas channel at ETH-Zürich.
• Analysis of the impact of the rear containment wall on gas release.

Main Results:

• The model, with optimized entrainment parameters, shows good agreement with experimental data.
• The study quantifies the influence of the release containment geometry.
• Different entrainment assumptions and their scaling effects were evaluated.
• Validated model provides a tool for predicting dense gas cloud behavior on slopes.

Conclusions:

• The presented box model is a viable tool for simulating dense gas dispersion on slopes.
• Computer optimization of entrainment parameters enhances model accuracy.
• Findings contribute to improved risk assessment and emergency planning for dense gas releases.