Numerical study of the near-field of highly underexpanded turbulent gas jets

For safety issues related to the storage of gases (e.g. hydrogen) under high pressure, it is necessary to determine how the gas is released in the case of failure. In particular, there exist limited quantitative information on the near-field properties of gas jets, which are important for establishing proper decay laws in the far-field. Simulations of the near-field of highly underexpanded (high pressure) gas jets have been performed using Finite-Volume solver of the CAST3M code and validated using several sources available in the literature. The numerical model solves the 3D Compressible Multi-Component Navier–Stokes equations directly without relying on the compressibility-corrected turbulence models. It provides sufficiently fair mean predictions both in the case of one-component air–air and two-component helium-air releases. Possible initial conditions for the far-field simulations are suggested in terms of distance from the source, as well as the turbulence characteristics and gas-dynamic parameters at this location. In addition, these results are used to evaluate several notional nozzle concepts in order to determine the one physically consistent.

▶ Present numerical model gives fair near-field description of high-pressure releases. ▶ The validation for helium into air case is performed via high-resolution BOS data. ▶ We suggest a distance from a high-pressure source to start the following simulations. ▶ At this location in space we report gas-dynamic and turbulence characteristics.
► Notional nozzle concepts are evaluated and the one physically consistent determined.