The safety of an
open kitchen is a controversial topic
in China.
In this study, natural gas leakage and ventilation processes under
an open kitchen layout and closed kitchen layout are simulated by
CFD. The evolution of a hazardous gas cloud and the triggering behaviors
of alarms are analyzed and discussed. For closing all windows in the
leakage process, the state of the partition door is a major factor.
A closed kitchen layout with a closing partition door performs best
in confining a hazardous gas cloud. At this point, it is difficult
for a hazardous gas cloud to appear in the living area. With the partition
door open, the gas cloud develops rapidly. For opening windows in
the leakage process, a large scale hazardous gas cloud is not able
to form under all layouts. For alarm-triggering behaviors, a closed
kitchen layout when closing the partition door also performs best.
When opening the partition door, alarms cannot trigger stably under
all layouts. For the ventilation process, hazardous gas cloud dissipation
under an open kitchen layout is slightly faster than the closed kitchen
layout. Under a weak convection effect, there is a transition stage
which delays the time point for exhausting leaked gas. Based on the
analysis, some recommendations for accident prevention are proposed.
Residents should try to use closed kitchens and close partition doors
when not cooking. If open kitchens are used, multiple alarms with
lower trigger values should be installed. It is better to choose a
ceiling type for gas alarms. The windows of the house are recommended
to select two layers type. Higher layers can open during the ventilation
process to accelerate the exhaust of leaked gas. These recommendations
provide a reference for preventing fires and explosions.