The dynamics of the dispersion of a fixed mass of the buoyant fuel, methane, when exposed with a negligible pressure difference to overlaying air within vertical cylindrical enclosures open to the atmosphere is investigated. Features of the formation and dispersion of flammable mixtures created by the gas dissipation were examined using a 3D CFD model. For the cases considered, the lean-flammable mixture boundary appears to travel mainly at a near constant rate while the rich limit front shows a more chaotic behaviour. The corresponding simulation using an axis-symmetrical 2D model tended to under-predict the dynamics of the lean and rich boundaries, for the cases considered. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.