A numerical simulation of the suppression of hydrogen jet fires on hydrogen fuel cell ships using a fine water mist

In this paper, in order to evaluate the reliability of a fine water mist for the suppression of fires on hydrogen fuel cell ships, the fire dynamics simulator (FDS) software was used to simulate the jet fire process and the action of a fine water mist on a fire caused by a hydrogen leakage in the hydrogen storage tank areas of hydrogen fuel cell ships. The fire scenario was classified into vertical or horizontal jet fires according to the location of the leakage in the hydrogen storage tank area, and the suppression effects of a fine water mist on hydrogen jet fires under a different droplet size, spray velocity, and ambient wind speed were compared and analyzed. The results indicate that a fine water mist is not effective in extinguishing hydrogen jet fires; however, by selecting suitable parameters (a spray velocity of 30 m/s and average droplet size of 30 μm), it can effectively reduce the fire field temperature of hydrogen jet fires and prevent the fire from developing further. Increasing the average droplet size of the fine water mist results in a gradual degradation of the suppression effect, while a higher spray velocity of the mist enhances the suppression effect to a certain extent. The ambient wind speed is an important factor that influences the suppression effect of a fine water mist on hydrogen jet fires, and when this speed is less than 4 m/s, a fine water mist with a higher spray velocity and smaller average droplet size is still a superior way of suppressing fires.