Validation of numerical models for cryogenic-liquid pool spreading and vaporization on solid ground

Accidental spills of cryogenic liquids create vaporizing pools spreading over the ground that can result in pool fires, explosions, or hazardous vapor clouds. Various integral models have been developed for simulating the spread and vaporization of cryogenic liquid pools. The spreading law of a constant Froude number (CFN1), which was originally derived for floating pools on water, has been assumed to be accurate for pools spreading on land in some models. This assumption is controversial and has not been validated. In addition, although the gas accumulation over spreading pools (GASP2) model has been well developed, further validation is required. An attempt was made to fill these gaps. This study aimed to propose and validate numerical models, i.e., a model incorporating the spreading law of a constant Froude number (CFN model) and simplified GASP models for indoor spills. The results were compared to the experimental data of cryogenic liquid pools spreading on solid ground. A good agreement between the predictions obtained from the simplified GASP models and the measured data was shown. Conversely, the CFN model yielded unrealistic results. Then, a modified CFN model was proposed and validated. The validations suggested that the modified CFN and simplified GASP models successfully simulated the behavior of cryogenic liquid pools spreading on solid ground.