Fire Safety of Hydrogen Vehicles
Speaker: Peter B. Sunderland
Date: Thursday, March 23, 2023
Time: 5:30 pm Social Hour: Fellowship and Networking
6:30 pm Dinner
7:30 pm Brief Presentation by Social Sponsor
7:40 Main Presentation
Place: The Pinnacle Center
3330 Highland Drive
Hudsonville, MI 49426
Menu: Bourbon BBQ Chicken with accompaniments. Vegetarian meal available on request in advance of registration deadline.
Cost: Members and Non-members $30.00.
Students, retirees and unemployed $15.00.
$10.00 Extra Charge for Late Sign-ups.
Payment: Check or cash at the door.
Sorry, we are unable to take credit/debit cards at this time
But we plan to implement this option in the future.
Social Sponsor: 
RESERVATIONS TO DaAliya@itothen.com
You MUST Sign up by Monday, March 13, at NOON.
PRESENTATION DETAILS: Family and Friends are Welcome!
The presentation will introduce the unusual combustion properties of hydrogen, such as wide flammability limits and nearly invisible flames. Firefighting techniques and case studies will be discussed. Research performed at UMD on hydrogen microflames will be presented, where it has been found that hydrogen leaks can support combustion at mass flow rates an order of magnitude lower than for hydrocarbon leaks. Materials degradation is found to be far faster when exposed to hydrogen flames as compared to hydrocarbon flames.
SPEAKER BIO: Peter B. Sunderland is Professor of Fire Protection Engineering and Keystone Professor at the University of Maryland, College Park. He earned a Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical Engineering at Cornell University, a Master's Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and a Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Michigan. Prior to joining the University of Maryland he worked at the National Center for Microgravity Research at the NASA Glenn Research Center.
Professor Sunderland's research interests are in combustion and fire protection, including soot formation and oxidation, microgravity combustion, hydrogen flames, laminar diffusion flames, battery fires, sodium fires, and advanced diagnostics. He has published 35 journal articles. His research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, NASA, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the National Fire Protection Association. Professor Sunderland's awards include: National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Award and the SAE International Ralph H. Isbrandt Automotive Safety Engineering Award.