Accident impact analysis for hydrogen car tank explosions at complex hydrogen refueling stations

• Established a station-scale blast consequence assessment workflow using FLACS with a TNT-equivalent approach. • Validated the numerical model against full-scale experimental overpressure measurements. • Investigated one, two, and three-tank explosion scenarios (5.15∼15.45 kg TNT) to quantify escalation effects. • Quantified protective barrier effectiveness (≈89∼94% peak overpressure attenuation) and derived implications for separation distance and domino-risk mitigation. This study assesses the explosion consequences of high-pressure hydrogen storage tanks in fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) at complex hydrogen–LPG refueling stations. Explosion loads were quantified using FLACS with a TNT-equivalent approach for one, two, and three-tank explosion scenarios (5.15, 10.30, and 15.45 kg TNT, respectively), and the numerical model was validated against full-scale test data. The analysis confirms that explosion severity increases substantially as the number of tanks increases, with the near-field peak overpressure rising from approximately 200 kPa in the one-tank case to about 500 kPa in the three-tank case. A protective barrier provides strong mitigation, attenuating peak overpressure by approximately 89%–94%, thereby limiting the peak overpressure behind the barrier to approximately 9–11 kPa across scenarios. However, consequence-based assessment indicates that barrier integrity is critical, as barrier failure can markedly increase injury risk and damage potential, increasing the likelihood of secondary (domino) impacts. These findings support barrier-focused safety design and provide quantitative evidence for separation distance criteria and emergency response planning in complex refueling infrastructures.