Numerical Modelling of Heat Transfer Phenomena in Accidental CO2 Pipeline Releases with Experimental Validation

The deployment of a safe, reliable, and financially economical carbon-capture and storage chain requires detailed considerations to be made of the hazards of CO2 transportation, and the risks involved in pipeline operation. CO2 poses a number of dangers upon its release, and one major concern is the escalation of a pipeline rupture event due to Joule-Thomson cooling within the vicinity of the expansion, leading to embrittlement and possible running fractures. Capable of releasing several thousand tonnes of high density CO2, such an event could have catastrophic consequences. This paper demonstrates an experimentally validated, numerical approach to the modelling of release scenarios. In addition to the prediction of complex phase behaviour, the approach is capable of quantifying temperatures and pressures for the purpose of fracture propagation modelling. This will further the understanding of hazards associated with CO2 pipeline failure.