Transportation of CO2 in high-pressure pipelines forms a crucial link in the ever-increasing application of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technologies. An unplanned release of CO2 from a pipeline presents a risk to human and animal populations and the environment. Therefore it is very important to develop a deeper understanding of the atmospheric dispersion of CO2 before the deployment of CO2 pipelines, to allow the appropriate safety precautions to be taken. This paper presents a two-stage Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) study developed (1) to estimate the source strength, and (2) to simulate the subsequent dispersion of CO2 in the atmosphere, using the source strength estimated in stage (1). The Peng-Robinson (PR) EOS was incorporated into the CFD code. This enabled accurate modelling of the CO2 jet to achieve more precise source strength estimates. The two-stage simulation approach also resulted in a reduction in the overall computing time. The CFD models were validated against experimental results from the British Petroleum (BP) CO2 dispersion trials, and also against results produced by the risk management package Phast. Compared with the measurements, the CFD simulation results showed good agreement in both source strength and dispersion profile predictions. Furthermore, the effect of release direction on the dispersion was studied. The presented research provides a viable method for the assessment of risks associated with CCS.

The development of CO2 pipelines for Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) raises new questions regarding the control of ductile fracture propagation and fracture arrest toughness criteria. The decompression behaviour in the fluid must be determined accurately in order to estimate the proper pipe toughness. However, anthropogenic CO2 may contain impurities that can modify the fluid decompression characteristics quite significantly. To determine the decompression wave speed in CO2 mixtures, the thermodynamic properties of these mixtures must be determined by using an accurate equation of state. In this paper we present a new decompression model developed using the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) package ANSYS Fluent. The GERG-2008 Equation of State (EOS) was implemented into this model through User Defined Functions (UDF) to predict the thermodynamic properties of CO2 mixtures. The model predictions were in good agreement with the experimental data of two 'shock tube' tests. A range of representative CO2 mixtures was examined in terms of the changes in fluid properties from the initial conditions, with time and distance, immediately after a sudden pipeline opening at one end. Phase changes that may occur within the fluid due to condensation of 'impurities' in the fluid were also investigated. Simulations were also conducted to examine how the initial temperature and impurities would affect the decompression wave speed.

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Nanotwinned copper (Cu) exhibits an unusual combination of ultra-high yield strength and high ductility. A brittle-to-ductile transition was previously experimentally observed in nanotwinned Cu despite Cu being an intrinsically ductile metal. However, the atomic mechanisms responsible for brittle fracture and ductile fracture in nanotwinned Cu are still not clear. In this study, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations at different temperatures have been performed to investigate the fracture behaviour of a nanotwinned Cu specimen with a single-edge-notched crack whose surface coincides with a twin boundary. Three temperature ranges are identified, indicative of distinct fracture regimes, under tensile straining perpendicular to the twin boundary. Below 1.1 K, the crack propagates in a brittle fashion. Between 2 K and 30 K a dynamic brittle-to-ductile transition is observed. Above 40 K the crack propagates in a ductile mode. A detailed analysis has been carried out to understand the atomic fracture mechanism in each fracture regime. Between 2 K and 30 K a dynamic brittle-to-ductile transition is observed. Above 40 K the crack propagates in a ductile mode. A detailed analysis has been carried out to understand the atomic fracture mechanism in each fracture regime.