Simulating accident scenarios helped ABB enhance motor safety
CLIENT
ABB
PROJECT
Simulating motor operation in explosive environments.
OUR ROLE
Elomatic investigated the operation of an electric motor in a situation where hydrogen gas enters the motor block. The simulation helped estimate the pressure that burning hydrogen causes inside the motor and how to prevent the fire from escaping the motor. The results were used to optimize the motor’s dimensions to meet safety standards.
“Elomatic effectively modeled the assigned problem and simulated the behavior of the gas in a fire situation. The results obtained improved ABB’s design expertise in developing electric motors for explosive environments.”
Jouni Ikäheimo, Senior Principal R&D Engineer, ABB
How did we do it?
In the project, the operation of electric motors in explosive environments was studied by computational fluid dynamics methods. The progression of flammable hydrogen gas combustion within the motor was analyzed when the gas enters from the surrounding environment. The phenomenon studied was the so-called piling effect, which refers to the rapid pressure rise when the gas explodes.
Various accident scenarios where the fire front starts spreading to the environment were simulated using a detailed 3D model of the motor together with gas data. It was analyzed what happens when the gas ignites inside the motor, how the combustion products of the gas can exit the motor without breaking it, and how the spread of the fire to the environment can be prevented.
In demanding simulation projects, such as studying explosive substances, it is essential that sufficient phenomena are considered to ensure the reliability of the results, which helps evaluate what changes should be made to develop the product. Elomatic has extensive experience in similar simulation projects, such as calculating gas leaks, leakage scenarios of gas motors, simulating evaporators, and defining explosive areas.
Contact us
