The dynamics of the dispersion of a fixed mass of the highly buoyant hydrogen when exposed to overlaying atmosphere with a negligible pressure difference from open vertical cylindrical enclosures are examined. Features of the rapid formation and dispersion of flammable mixtures both inside and immediate outside of the enclosure and their corresponding propagation rates were examined using a 3-D CFD model. For the cases considered, the puffs of the fuel-air mixture appear to produce lean flammable boundaries that move mainly at a near constant rate for much of the time. A similar simulation that used an axis-symmetrical 2-D model tended to under-predict the dynamics of the lean and rich mixture boundaries. Hydrogen plume characteristics were compared with that of the less buoyant methane and helium release. Unlike methane, helium propagation rate was found fairly close to that of hydrogen. (C) 2009 International Association for Hydrogen Energy. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.