Damage Modeling of Storage Vessels in Liquefied Natural Gas Facilities due to Flammable Vapor Cloud Explosion
Publication: Practice Periodical on Structural Design and Construction
Volume 28, Issue 4
Abstract
Blast analysis of a storage container inside a liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility needs rigorous finite element analysis (FEA). This paper presents a detailed method of nonlinear dynamic analysis of LNG storage vessels subjected to blast load. The explicit dynamic solver of the commercially available FEA software Abaqus is used to perform the analysis. The finite element models of the LNG storage tanks include the static fluid pressure and internal pressure. Constitutive material models include strain-rate dependent elastic-plastic material effects. Based on the results of FEA, recommendations are made for safe practice of maintaining the structural integrity of vessels subjected to vapor cloud explosion (VCE).
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Data Availability Statement
All data, models, and code generated or used during the study appear in the published article.
Acknowledgments
This work was funded in part under the Department of Transportation, Pipeline, and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (Research Announcement: 693JK320RA0001). The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as representing the official policies, either expressed or implied, of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, the Department of Transportation, or the US Government. Authors would also like to thank the DNV team members (Michael Johnson, Cynthia Spitzenberger, and Tatiana Norman) for providing valuable insights on VCE scenario and structural failure investigation data.
References
ASME. 2021. Boiler and pressure vessel code section VIII-Rules for construction of pressure vessels division 1. New York: ASME.
Bhattacharyya, R., and A. Hazra. 2013. “A study on stress analysis of ISO tank container.” In Proc., 58th Congress of the Indian Society of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics. Kharagpur, India: Indian Society of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics.
Comp Engr Apps. 2018. “Vapor cloud dispersion and ignition.” Accessed February 4, 2023. https://youtu.be/DZeAZyDI_JU?t=34.
Dereli, O., S. Basu, M. Ozbey, and R. Bhattacharyya. 2022. “Finite element analysis of piping system under blast load due to accidental explosion.” In Proc., Conf. Pressure Vessels and Piping Fluid-Structure Interaction; High Pressure Technology. New York: ASME. https://doi.org/10.1115/PVP2022-84812%3E(July).V003T05A018.
Goodwin, G. B., R. W. Houim, and E. S. Oran. 2016. “Effect of decreasing blockage ratio on DDT in small channels with obstacles.” Combust. Flame 173 (Nov): 16–26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.combustflame.2016.07.029.
Goodwin, G. B., R. W. Houim, and E. S. Oran. 2017. “Shock transition to detonation in channels with obstacles.” Proc. Combust. Inst. 36 (2): 2717–2724. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proci.2016.06.160.
Hu, K., G. Chen, R. Abbassi, Z. Zhou, T. Zeng, and Y. Yang. 2020. “A novel approach to distinguish the uniform and non-uniform distribution of blast loads in process industry.” Process Saf. Environ. Prot. 134 (Feb): 416–428. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psep.2019.10.037.
Johnson, D. M., A. Pekalski, V. H. Y. Tam, B. A. Burgan, P. Hoorelbeke, C. Savvides, and D. Allason. 2020. “Interpretation of damage caused by a vapor cloud explosion.” Process Saf. Prog. 39 (2): e12106. https://doi.org/10.1002/prs.12106.
Johnson, D. M., and V. H. Y. Tam. 2017. “Why DDT is the only way to explain some vapor cloud explosions.” Process Saf. Prog. 36 (3): 292–300. https://doi.org/10.1002/prs.11874.
Kumar, A. 1996. “Guidelines for evaluating the characteristics of vapor cloud explosions, flash fires, and bleves.” Environ. Prog. Sustainable Energy 15 (1): 11–12. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470938157.
Kundu, S., J. Zanganeh, and B. Moghtaderi. 2016. “A review on understanding explosions from methane–air mixture.” J. Loss Prev. Process Ind. 40 (Mar): 507–523. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jlp.2016.02.004.
Lee, D.-Y., J.-S. Jo, A. J. Nyongesa, and W.-J. Lee. 2023. “Fatigue analysis of a 40 ft LNG ISO tank container.” Materials 16 (1): 428. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16010428.
Lee, S. W., S. J. Choi, and J. J. Kim. 2016. “Analytical study of failure damage to 270,000-kL LNG storage tank under blast loading.” Comput. Concr. 17 (2): 201–214. https://doi.org/10.12989/cac.2016.17.2.201.
Li, X., G. Chen, F. Khan, E. Lai, and P. Amyotte. 2022. “Analysis of structural response of storage tanks subject to synergistic blast and fire loads.” J. Loss Prev. Process Ind. 80 (Dec): 104891. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jlp.2022.104891.
Lu, S., W. Wang, W. Chen, J. Ma, Y. Shi, and C. Xu. 2019. “Behaviors of thin-walled cylindrical shell storage tank under blast impacts.” Shock Vib. 2019 (Aug): 6515462. https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/6515462.
Mannan, S. 2012. Lees’ loss prevention in the process industries. 4th ed. Oxford, UK: Butterworth-Heinemann.
Mittal, V., T. Chakraborty, and V. Matsagar. 2014. “Dynamic analysis of liquid storage tank under blast using coupled Euler–Lagrange formulation.” Thin-Walled Struct. 84 (Nov): 91–111. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tws.2014.06.004.
Oran, E. S., G. Chamberlain, and A. Pekalski. 2020. “Mechanisms and occurrence of detonations in vapor cloud explosions.” Prog. Energy Combust. Sci. 77 (Mar): 100804. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pecs.2019.100804.
Oran, E. S., and F. A. Williams. 2012. “The physics, chemistry and dynamics of explosions.” Philos. Trans. R. Soc. London, Ser. A 370 (1960): 534–543. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2011.0385.
Poludnenko, A. Y., T. A. Gardiner, and E. S. Oran. 2011. “Spontaneous transition of turbulent flames to detonations in unconfined media.” Phys. Rev. Lett. 107 (5): 054501. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.107.054501.
Rosas, C., S. Davis, D. Engel, P. Middha, K. van Wingerden, and M. S. Mannan. 2014. “Deflagration to detonation transitions (DDTs): Predicting DDTs in hydrocarbon explosions.” J. Loss Prev. Process Ind. 30 (Jul): 263–274. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jlp.2014.03.003.
Sari, A., B. Sayin, and M. P. Khiavi. 2021. “A methodology to prevent process piping failures during vapor cloud explosions.” Int. J. Press. Vessels Pip. 193 (Oct): 104436. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpvp.2021.104436.
Spitzenberger, C., M. Ozbey, T. Norman, M. Johnson, and G. Ferrara. 2022. “VCE potential cascade effects.” In Proc., 2022 Spring Meeting and 18th Global Congress on Process Safety. New York: American Institute of Chemical Engineers.
Task Committee on Blast-Resistant Design. 2010. Design of blast-resistant buildings in petrochemical facilities. 2nd ed. Reston, VA: ASCE.
United Kingdom Offshore Oil and Gas. 2007. Fire and explosion guidance, issue 1. Oxford, UK: United Kingdom Offshore Oil and Gas.
USCSB (US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board). 2019. “Preliminary animation of Philadelphia energy solutions refinery fire and explosions.” Accessed February 4, 2023. https://youtu.be/J4wKjGHvs_4?t=77.
USCSB (US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board). 2020. “Updated BP Texas city animation on the 15th anniversary of the explosion.” Accessed February 4, 2023. https://youtu.be/goSEyGNfiPM?t=575.
Zhang, B. Y., H. H. Li, and W. Wang. 2015. “Numerical study of dynamic response and failure analysis of spherical storage tanks under external blast loading.” J. Loss Prev. Process Ind. 34 (Mar): 209–217. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jlp.2015.02.008.
Zhang, R., J. Jia, H. Wang, and Y. Guan. 2018. “Shock response analysis of a large LNG storage tank under blast loads.” KSCE J. Civ. Eng. 22 (9): 3419–3429. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12205-017-1246-x.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
© 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Feb 12, 2023
Accepted: Jul 9, 2023
Published online: Sep 11, 2023
Published in print: Nov 1, 2023
Discussion open until: Feb 11, 2024
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Analysis (by type)
- Buildings
- Coasts, oceans, ports, and waterways engineering
- Continuum mechanics
- Dynamic analysis
- Dynamic loads
- Dynamics (solid mechanics)
- Energy engineering
- Energy sources (by type)
- Engineering fundamentals
- Engineering mechanics
- Equipment and machinery
- Facilities (by type)
- Finite element method
- Fuels
- Methodology (by type)
- Natural gas
- Non-renewable energy
- Numerical methods
- Petroleum
- Ships
- Solid mechanics
- Storage facilities
- Storage tanks
- Structural dynamics
- Structural engineering
- Structures (by type)
- Tanks (by type)
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.