Comparison of Available Portable Combustible Gas and Hydrogen Sensors
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Comparison of Available Portable Combustible Gas and Hydrogen Sensors June 2011 FOREWORD This report documents a comparison of currently commercially available portable equipment that can be used to sense/detect the presence of hydrogen and/or combustible gases in the air. Available devices, identified via a literature search, were compared and ranked based on a common set of ranking criteria and an objective rating system for each criterion. The devices were rated against each criterion based on data contained in manufacturer literature. This document is intended as a reference for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration in evaluating available equipment that might be used by agency inspectors to search for fuel leaks from commercial vehicles powered by hydrogen. In the context of this report, the presence of hydrogen detected in a concentration greater than 25 percent of the lower flammable limit (LFL) of hydrogen in the air would be considered a leak. Such a search would most likely be done in the context of a roadside vehicle inspection conducted in accordance with the North American Standard Inspection Procedures. In accordance with current inspection procedures, a fuel leak would be grounds to declare a vehicle out of service for a safety violation. Given that hydrogen is a colorless, odorless gas, it is unlikely that any vehicle inspector could identify a small leak (as defined above) from a hydrogen fuel system without the aid of detection equipment. NOTICE This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Transportation in the interest of information exchange. The United States Government assumes no liability for its contents or the use thereof. The contents of this Report reflect the views of the contractor, who is responsible for the accuracy of the data presented herein. The contents do not necessarily reflect the official policy of the U.S. Department of Transportation. This Report does not constitute a standard, specification, or regulation. The United States Government does not endorse products or manufacturers named herein. Trade or manufacturers’ names appear herein solely because they are considered essential to the object of this report. Technical Report Documentation Page 1. Report No. 2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient's Catalog No. FMCSA-RRT-11-005 4. Title and Subtitle 5. Report Date Comparison of Available Portable Combustible Gas and Hydrogen June 2011 Sensors 6. Performing Organization Code 7. Author(s) 8. Performing Organization Report No. Dana Lowell, M. J. Bradley & Associates, LLC Ben Kilburn, M. J. Bradley & Associates, LLC 9. Performing Organization Name and Address 10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS) M.J. Bradley & Associates, LLC 1000 Elm Street, 2nd Floor 11. Contract or Grant No. Manchester, NH 03101 DTMC75-10-P-00014 12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address 13. Type of Report U.S. Department of Transportation Final Report Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Office of Analysis, Research, and Technology 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE 14. Sponsoring Agency Code Washington, DC 20590 FMCSA 15. Supplementary Notes Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative: Quon Y. Kwan, Program Manager 16. Abstract This report documents a comparison of currently commercially available portable equipment that can be used to sense/detect the presence of hydrogen and/or combustible gases in the air. Available devices, identified via a literature search, were compared and ranked based on a common set of ranking criteria and an objective rating system for each criterion. The devices were rated against each criterion based on data contained in manufacturer literature. This document is intended as a reference for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration in evaluating available equipment that might be used by agency inspectors to search for fuel leaks from commercial vehicles powered by hydrogen, in the context of safety inspections carried out in accordance with the North American Standard Inspection Procedures. 17. Key Words 18. Distribution Statement Combustible gas, commercial vehicle inspection, No restrictions hydrogen, hydrogen leak detection, hydrogen safety, portable combustible gas detector, portable hydrogen detector 19. Security Classif. (of this report) 20. Security Classif. (of this page) 21. No. of Pages 22. Price Unclassified Unclassified 29 Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-72) Reproduction of completed page authorized. SI* (MODERN METRIC) CONVERSION FACTORS Table of APPROXIMATE CONVERSIONS TO SI UNITS Symbol When You Know Multiply By To Find Symbol LENGTH In Inches 25.4 Millimeters mm Ft Feet 0.305 Meters m Yd Yards 0.914 Meters m Mi Miles 1.61 Kilometers km AREA in² square inches 645.2 square millimeters mm² ft² square feet 0.093 square meters m² yd² square yards 0.836 square meters m² Ac acres 0.405 Hectares ha mi² square miles 2.59 square kilometers km² VOLUME 1000 L shall be shown in m³ fl oz fluid ounces 29.57 Milliliters mL Gal gallons 3.785 Liters L ft³ cubic feet 0.028 cubic meters m³ yd³ cubic yards 0.765 cubic meters m³ MASS Oz ounces 28.35 Grams g Lb pounds 0.454 Kilograms kg T short tons (2000 lb) 0.907 megagrams (or “metric ton”) Mg (or “t”) TEMPERATURE Temperature is in exact degrees °F Fahrenheit 5 × (F-32) ÷ 9 Celsius °C or (F-32) ÷ 1.8 ILLUMINATION Fc foot-candles 10.76 Lux lx Fl foot-Lamberts 3.426 candela/m² cd/m² Force and Pressure or Stress Lbf poundforce 4.45 Newtons N lbf/in² poundforce per square inch 6.89 Kilopascals kPa Table of APPROXIMATE CONVERSIONS FROM SI UNITS Symbol When You Know Multiply By To Find Symbol LENGTH Mm millimeters 0.039 inches in M meters 3.28 feet ft M meters 1.09 yards yd Km kilometers 0.621 miles mi AREA mm² square millimeters 0.0016 square inches in² m² square meters 10.764 square feet ft² m² square meters 1.195 square yards yd² Ha hectares 2.47 acres ac km² square kilometers 0.386 square miles mi² VOLUME mL milliliters 0.034 fluid ounces fl oz L liters 0.264 gallons gal m³ cubic meters 35.314 cubic feet ft³ m³ cubic meters 1.307 cubic yards yd³ MASS G grams 0.035 ounces oz Kg kilograms 2.202 pounds lb Mg (or “t”) megagrams (or “metric ton”) 1.103 short tons (2000 lb) T TEMPERATURE Temperature is in exact degrees °C Celsius 1.8c + 32 Fahrenheit °F ILLUMINATION Lx lux 0.0929 foot-candles fc cd/m² candela/m² 0.2919 foot-Lamberts fl Force & Pressure Or Stress N newtons 0.225 poundforce lbf kPa kilopascals 0.145 poundforce per square inch lbf/in² * SI is the symbol for the International System of Units. Appropriate rounding should be made to comply with Section 4 of ASTM E380. (Revised March 2003, Section 508-accessible version September 2009) ii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS ........................................................................ V EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .......................................................................................................VII 1. INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................1 2. SUMMARY OF AVAILABLE PORTABLE DETECTORS ...........................................3 3. COMPARISON OF AVAILABLE PORTABLE DETECTORS ...................................11 3.1 EVALUATION CRITERIA ........................................................................................11 3.1.1 Economic Factors............................................................................................ 11 3.1.2 Factors Relating to Detection Capability ........................................................ 11 3.2 CRITERIA WEIGHING FACTORS ...........................................................................13 3.3 OVERALL WEIGHTED RATING .............................................................................14 3.4 RESULTS: WEIGHTED AVERAGE RATING OF AVAILABLE DETECTORS ...14 iii LIST OF FIGURES (AND FORMULAS) Figure 1. Typical Portable Combustible Gas and Hydrogen Detectors ...........................................3 Figure 2. Formula for Determining an Overall Weighted Rating for Each Device. ......................14 LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Available Portable Combustible Gas Detectors—Purchase Cost and Operational Considerations ..................................................................................................................4 Table 2. Available Portable Combustible Gas Detectors—Detection Capability and User Interface ............................................................................................................................5 Table 3. Available Portable Hydrogen Detectors—Purchase Cost and Operational Considerations7 Table 4. Available Portable Hydrogen Detectors—Detection Capability and User Interface ........8 Table 5. Economic Factors ............................................................................................................14 Table 6. Detection Capability ........................................................................................................14 Table 7. Weighted Average Rating of Portable Combustible Gas Detectors ................................15 Table 8. Weighted Average Rating of Portable Hydrogen Detector .............................................15 iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS Acronym Definition CO carbon monoxide CO2 Carbon dioxide CSA Canadian Standards Association International FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration H2S hydrogen sulfide LCD liquid crystal display LED light emitting diode LFL lower flammable limit NH3 ammonia NO2 nitrogen dioxide PPM parts per million SO2 sulfur dioxide UL Underwriters