Assessment and mitigation of Hydrogen fuelled vehicle hazards

Hydrogen Safety Engineering and Research Centre (HySAFER) at Ulster University is one of the key providers of high-quality hydrogen safety research, engineering and education globally. Main area of HySAFER research is development of models for hydrogen safety engineering.
This PhD research project will focus on closing knowledge gaps and addressing technological bottlenecks associated with safety of high-pressure hydrogen storage relevant to hydrogen-fuelled transport. HySAFER team draws on practical engineering needs from its collaboration in prestigious UK and European industry-driven research projects. Areas where novel engineering models are required include, but not limited to:
predicting thermal condition of tank structure across a wide range of tank volumes (car, LGV, HGV), tank construction materials (different composites, liners, thermal protection solutions), tank off-design conditions (fire, blowdown), etc.
safe fuelling and defueling of modelling onboard tanks fuelling and defueling, which is of particular interest to OEMs in safety context,
time to prevention of tank rupture in a fire due to pressure valve failure,
simulation of fireball size and fireball thermal hazards from tank rupture in a fire, both in open space and accounting vehicle structure;
modelling of blast wave propagation and assessment of pressure hazards associated with high-pressure tank rupture in tunnels and confined enclosures;
thermal and pressure hazards of ignited jet fires associated with releases from pressure relieve valve.
The suitable candidate should have background in physics, including fundamental heat and mass transfer, combustion, etc. The research will include analysis of relevant physical phenomena, review of existing state-of-the-art, development of novel physical model(s) based on fundamental principles, model implementation, identification of experimental data for validation of simulations and validation campaign. It is envisaged that this PhD research project will contribute to development of innovative prevention and mitigation strategies and engineering solutions for hydrogen systems and infrastructure. Research results are expected to be presented in peer-reviewed journal publications and conference contributions.
HySAFER is the major contributor of models to EU funded free access online e-Laboratory of Hydrogen Safety (https://fch2edu.eu/home/e-laboratory). The candidate will join HySAFER team involved in leading-edge research and delivering externally funded projects. It is expected that the new models will be implemented using existing protocol and programming convention of mentioned above e-Laboratory of Hydrogen Safety. Knowledge of popular web frameworks, programming languages and technologies for Front-end and Back-end is desirable e.g. Python, C++, Django, PHP, Java and JavaScript etc. Exposure to numerical modelling techniques is welcome as the candidate could use contemporary tools like CFD for verification of reduced models for online laboratory.

The RI self-assessment of an individual's research projects will mean that the cohort have a high degree of understanding of the potential beneficial impact from their research on the economy, society and the environment. This then places the cohort as the best ambassadors for the CDT, hence most pathways to impact are through the students, facilitated by the CDT.

Industrial impact of this CDT is in working closely together with key industry players across the hydrogen sector, including through co-supervision, mentoring of doctoral students and industry involvement in CDT events. Our industrial stakeholders include those working on hydrogen production (ITM Power, Hydrogen Green Power, Pure Energy) and distribution (Northern Gas, Cadent), storage (Luxfer, Haydale, Far UK), safety (HSL, Shell, ITM Power), low carbon transport (Ulemco, Arcola Energy), heat and power (Bosch, Northern Gas).

Policy impact of the CDT research and other activities will occur through cohort interactions with local authorities (Nottingham City Council) and LEPs (LLEP, D2N2) through the CDT workshops and conference. A CDT in Parliament day will be facilitated by UKHFCA (who have experience in lobbying the government on behalf of their members) and enable the cohort to visit the Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology (POST), BEIS and to meet with local MPs. Through understanding the importance of evidence gathering by Government Departments and the role this has in informing policy, the cohort will be encouraged to take the initiative in submitting evidence to any relevant requests for evidence from POST.

Public impact will be achieved through developing knowledge-supported interest of public in renewable energy in particular the role of hydrogen systems and infrastructure. Special attention will be paid to demonstration of safety solutions to prove that hydrogen is not more or less dangerous compared to other fuels when it is dealt with professionally and systems are engineered properly. The public, who are ultimate beneficiaries of hydrogen technologies, will be engaged through different communication channels and the CDT activities to be aware of our work. We will communicate important conclusions of the CDT research at regional, national, and international events as appropriate.

Socio-economic impact. There are significant socio-economic opportunities, including employment, for hydrogen technologies as the UK moves to low carbon transport, heat and power supply. For the UK to have the opportunity to take an international lead in hydrogen sector we need future innovation leaders. The CDT supported by partners we will create conditions for and exploit the opportunities to maximise socio-economic impact.

Students will be expected in years 3 and 4 to undertake a research visit to an industry partner and/or to undertake a knowledge transfer secondment. It is expected these visits (supported by the CDT) will be a significant benefit to the student's research project through access to industry expertise, exploring the potential impact of their research and will also be a valuable networking experience.