Evaluation of Gas Explosion Overpressures at Configurations with Irregularly Arranged Obstacles
Publication: Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities
Volume 29, Issue 5
Abstract
Rapid analytical methods for the calculation of gas explosion overpressures in confined and congested regions are of great value where a benchmark value is sought rather than a time consuming detailed analysis obtainable by computational fluid dynamics (CFD). While earlier correlations have been compared directly to experiments, the geometries used were often simplistic and displayed homogeneity in confinement and congestion. Realistic geometries typically display a high degree of inhomogeneity in confinement and congestion. Here the authors examine geometries where the confinement and congestion were deliberately varied such that some of the geometries possessed inhomogeneity of both parameters. Little experimental data exists for such configurations and hence the authors examine these configurations using CFD. The CFD overpressure predictions at various target locations for 400 scenarios are compared with the results from a newly derived correlation and the correlation of the guidance for the application of the multi-energy method (GAME). It is found that the overpressure predictions obtained using the correlation still better agrees with the CFD modeling results compared with the GAME correlation suggesting. To show the importance of increased accuracy in these cases, a structural damage level evaluation process is used to place the damage levels for four monitor points on a curve, and the results show that often these damage levels are near critical, demonstrating the need for improved accuracy.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
Arntzen, B. J. (1998). “Modelling of turbulence and combustion for simulation of gas explosions in complex geometries.” Ph.D. thesis, Norwegian Univ. Norway, Trondheim, Norway.
Bjerketvedt, D., Bakke, J. R., and vanWingerden, K. (1997). “Gas explosion handbook.” J. Hazard. Mater., 52(1), 1–150.
Eggen, J. B. M. M. (1995). “GAME: Development of guidance for the application of the multi-energy method.”, HSE Books, Rijswijk, Netherlands.
Explosion Model Evaluation Group (EMEG). (1997). “Specifications of test cases for gas explosions—Test case C1.” EME project, DGXII, Brussels, Belgium.
Ferrara, G., Di Benedetto, A., Salzano, E., and Russo, G. (2006). “CFD analysis of gas explosions vented through relief pipes.” J. Hazard. Mater., 137(2), 654–665.
FLACS v9.1 [Computer software]. Norway, Doxygen, GexCon.
Harris, R. J., and Wickens, M. J. (1989). “Understanding vapour cloud explosions—An experimental study.” 55th Autumn Meeting of the Institution of Gas Engineers, Institution of Gas Engineers, Kensington, U.K.
Hjertager, B. H. (1984). “Computer-simulation of turbulent reactive gas-dynamics.” Model. Ident. Control, 5(4), 211–236.
Hjertager, B. H. (1993). “Computer modeling of turbulent gas-explosions in complex 2d and 3d geometries.” J. Hazard. Mater., 34(2), 173–197.
Li, J., Abdel-jawad, M., and Ma, G. (2014). “New correlation for vapor cloud explosion overpressure calculation at congested configurations.” J. Loss Prev. Process Ind., 31, 16–25.
Marangon, A., Carcassi, M., Engebo, A., and Nilsen, S. (2007). “Safety distances: Definition and values.” Int. J. Hydrogen Energy, 32(13), 2192–2197.
Mays, G. C., and Smith, P. D. (1995). Blast effects on buildings—Design of buildings to optimize resistance to blast loading, Thomas Telford, London.
Mercx, W. P. M., Johnson, D. M., and Puttock, J. (1995). “Validation of scaling techniques for experimental vapor cloud explosion investigations.” Process Safety Prog., 14(2), 120–130.
Mercx, W. P. M., and van den Berg, A. C. (2005). Chapter 5, Vapour cloud explosion, TNO Yellow Book: Methods for the calculation of physical effects due to releases of hazardous materials, 2nd Ed., TNO—The Netherlands Organisation of Applied Scientific Research, Rijswijk, Netherlands.
Patankar, S. V. (1980). Numerical heat transfer and fluid flow, Hemisphere publishing corporation, London.
Schumann, S., Haas, W., and Schmittberger, H. (1993). “Dust explosion venting—Investigation of the secondary explosion for vessel volumes from 0.3 M(3) to 250 M(3).” Staub Reinhaltung Der Luft, 53(12), 445–451.
Smith, P. D., and Hetherington, J. G. (1994). Blast and ballistic loading of structures, Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford, U.K.
Vandenberg, A. C. (1985). “The multi-energy method—A framework for vapor cloud explosion blast prediction.” J. Hazard. Mater., 12(1), 1–10.
Wingerden, C. J. M. v. (1988). “Investigation into the blast produced by vapour cloud explosions in partially confined areas.”, HSE Books, Rijswijk, Netherlands.
Wingerden, C. J. M. v. (1989). “Experimental investigation into the strength of blast waves generated by vapour cloud explosions in congested areas.” 6th Int. Symp. Loss Prevention and Safety Promotion in the Process Industries, Vol. 26, Oslo, Norway, 1–16.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
© 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: May 1, 2014
Accepted: Aug 22, 2014
Published online: Sep 23, 2014
Discussion open until: Feb 23, 2015
Published in print: Oct 1, 2015
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.