LPG-hydrogen comparison

A comparison of the predicted results from a calibrated computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model with experimentally measured hydrogen data was made to verify the calibrated CFD model. The experimental data showed the method predicted the spatial and temporal hydrogen distribution in the garage very well. A comparison was then made of the risks incurred from a leaking hydrogen-fueled vehicle and a leaking liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)-fueled vehicle. 

The model was used to compare gas leakage from vehicles stored in residential garages. Leakage from an LPG-fueled vehicle was compared to leakage from a hydrogen-fueled vehicle. The comparison was based on a Ford Taurus sized vehicle stored in a single car garage. 

Hydrogen fuel vehicles also must surmount a very difficult marketing challenge because there are currently no commercial hydrogen vehicles on the roads. By way of comparison, when EPACT was enacted in 1992 to promote alternative fuel use, there were already over 20,000 CNG vehicles and over 200,000 LPG vehicles operating in the United States (Energy Information Administration, 1996). 

---