Title
Validation of OpenFoam for heavy gas dispersion applications
Author
Mack, A.
Spruijt, M.P.N.
Publication year
2013
Abstract
In the present paper heavy gas dispersion calculations were performed with OpenFoam. For a windtunnel test case, numerical data was validated with experiments. For a full scale numerical experiment,a code to code comparison was performed with numerical results obtained from Fluent. The validationwas performed in a gravity driven environment (slope), where the heavy gas induced the turbulence.For the code to code comparison, a hypothetical heavy gas release into a strongly turbulent atmosphericboundary layer including terrain effects was selected. The investigations were performed for SF6and CO2as heavy gases applying the standard k–ε turbulence model. A strong interaction of the heavy gas with theturbulence is present which results in a strong damping of the turbulence and therefore reduced heavygas mixing. Especially this interaction, based on the buoyancy effects, was studied in order to ensure thatthe turbulence-buoyancy coupling is the main driver for the reduced mixing and not the global behaviourof the turbulence modelling.For both test cases, comparisons were performed between OpenFoam and Fluent solutions which weremainly in good agreement with each other. Beside steady state solutions, the time accuracy was inves-tigated. In the low turbulence environment (wind tunnel test) which for both codes (laminar solutions)was in good agreement, also with the experimental data. The turbulent solutions of OpenFoam werein much better agreement with the experimental results than the Fluent solutions. Within the strongturbulence environment, both codes showed an excellent comparability.
Subject
Earth & Environment
UES - Urban Environment & Safety
EELS - Earth, Environmental and Life Sciences
Oil and Gas
Environment
Energy / Geological Survey Netherlands
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http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:aa081af3-ddd9-41d6-898a-2eebcc340331
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2013.08.065
TNO identifier
479513
Source
Journal of Hazardous Materials, 262, 504-516
Document type
article