The safety and security of liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities has prompted the need for continued study of LNG mitigation systems. Water spray systems are widely recognized as an effective measure for dispersing LNG vapor clouds. Currently, there are no engineering guidelines available for water curtain applications in the LNG industry due to a lack of understanding of the complex interactions between the LNG vapor cloud and water droplets. This research applies computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling to investigate the forced dispersion of LNG vapor using upward-oriented full-cone spray nozzles. A Eulerian-Lagrangian approach was applied to simulate the energy and momentum exchange between the continuous (gas flow) and discrete (droplets) phases. Discussed are the physical parameters that are essential inputs to the CFD simulation of the water spray-LNG system. The experimental data collected from the Mary Kay O’Connor Process Safety Center’s outdoor LNG spill work in March 2009 at the Brayton Fire Training Field were used to calibrate the physical parameters. The physical mechanisms of the water spray application were investigated using LNG forced dispersion modeling. The effects of momentum imparting from the droplets to the air- vapor mixture, thermal transfer between the two phases (droplet/vapor) and effects of various levels of air entrainment rates on the behavior of the LNG vapors are evaluated. Lastly, the key parametric dependences of the design elements for an effective water curtain system are investigated. The effects of different droplet sizes, droplet temperatures, nozzle cone angles, and installation configurations of water spray applications on LNG vapor behavior are analyzed. This work aims to investigate the complex interaction of the water droplet-LNG vapor system, which will serve in developing guidelines and establishing engineering criteria for a site-specific LNG mitigation system. Finally, the potentials of applying CFD modeling in providing guidance for setting up the design criteria for an effective forced mitigation system as an integrated safety element for LNG facilities are discussed.

There has been, and will continue to be, tremendous growth in the use and distribution of liquefied natural gas (LNG). As LNG poses the hazard of flammable vapor cloud formation from a release, which may result in a massive fire, increased public concerns have been expressed regarding the safety of this fuel. In addition, regulatory authorities in the U.S. as well as all over the world expect the implementation of consequence mitigation measures for LNG spills. For the effective and safer use any safety measure to prevent and mitigate an accidental release of LNG, it is critical to understand thoroughly the action mechanisms. Water spray curtains are generally used by petro-chemical industries to prevent and mitigate heavier-than-air toxic or flammable vapors. It is also used to cool and protect equipment from heat radiation of fuel fires. Currently, water spray curtains are recognized as one of the economic and promising techniques to enhance the dispersion of the LNG vapor cloud formed from a spill. Usually, water curtains are considered to absorb, dilute, disperse and warm a heavier-than-air vapor cloud. Dispersion of cryogenic LNG vapor behaves differently from other dense gases because of low molecular weight and extremely low temperature. So the interaction between water curtain and LNG vapor is different than other heavier vapor clouds. Only two major experimental investigations with water curtains in dispersing LNG vapor clouds were undertaken during the 1970s and 1980s. Studies showed that water spray curtains enhanced LNG vapor dispersion from small spills. However, the dominant phenomena to apply the water curtain most effectively in controlling LNG vapor were not clearly demonstrated. The main objective of this research is to investigate the effectiveness of water spray curtains in controlling the LNG vapor clouds from outdoor experiments. A research methodology has been developed to study the dispersion phenomena of LNG vapor by the action of different water curtains experimentally. This dissertation details the research and experiment development. Small scale outdoor LNG spill experiments have been performed at the Brayton Fire Training Field at Texas A&M University. Field test results regarding important phenomena are presented and discussed. Results have determined that the water curtains are able to reduce the concentration of the LNG vapor cloud, push the vapor cloud upward and transfer heat to the cloud. These are being identified due to the water curtain mechanisms of entrainment of air, dilution of vapor with entrained air, transfer of momentum and heat to the gas cloud. Some of the dominant actions required to control and disperse LNG vapor cloud are also identified from the experimental tests. The gaps are presented as the future work and recommendation on how to improve the experiments in the future. This will benefit LNG industries to enhance its safety system and to make LNG facilities safer.

The greenhouses play a key role in food sustainable production, the purpose of the greenhouses is to make an artificial suitable environment to grow different kinds of plants. The cost of energy used in the greenhouses to ensure the optimum temperature, humidity, and CO2 concentration, makes up a large part of the final cost of food. Due to global warming, the successive energy crises, and the food crises, the need to make the greenhouses more energy efficient and to utilize renewable energy resources is rapidly increasing. The enclosed water curtain cooling system meets the special requirement of the greenhouse cooling system, and it has potential energy savings when it is integrated with other systems such as heat pumps, underground water sources, and surplus heat energy recovery. This system involves two special nylon foils, and a thin layer of water flows between the two foils, the two foils will be stuck to eachother by the cohesive force of the water-detergent mixture, the detergent was added to decrease the water surface tension and ensure the even distribution of the water-detergent mixture over the nylon foils. In this study, an experimental model of the enclosed water curtain was made and two sets of tests were conducted, the first set was at room temperature around 20°C, and the second test was at room temperature around 25.7 °C with an electrical heater, each set contains three tests to measure the cooling capacity of the curtain, and each test takes 2 minutes, the curtain dimensions were height and width of 1.04 m and 1.20 m respectively. By measuring the difference between the average inlet and outlet temperature of the water-detergent mixture before and after the curtain, and the mixture mass flow rate during the test period, the cooling capacityof the curtain was calculated using the energy balance equation.It was found that the curtain cooling capacity increases with the increase of ambient temperature, The large heat transfer area of the curtain which allows using higher water temperature for cooling, and the useful features of the water membrane like the high absorption of the wavelength of infrared and the high transparency of the wavelength of visible light, make this system meets the special requirements of the greenhouses cooling system. However, to be able to apply this system in real-life, the design of the curtain should be improved, and suitable materials should be chosen to make it more reliable. Also, All tests in this study were conducted in the workshop in the absence of solar radiation, therefore, the actual performance of the curtain needs to be evaluated with the presence of solar radiation, to be able to study the effects of the direct and diffuse solar radiation with various spectrum range.