Reduction of chlorine concentrations by using a greenbelt

This paper presents the experimental results of using a greenbelt to mitigate accidental releases of chlorine from a small storage installation. During the field tests carried out with the shrub Thuya orientalis, Linnaeus (oriental thuya), the ability of such a barrier of vegetation to mitigate accidental releases by reducing the chlorine downstream concentrations was investigated. Visible injuries to the shrubs exposed to chlorine have been noticed, since the damaged areas exhibited typical symptoms with needles necrosis and a burnt orange-brown color. Early defoliation was observed in the vegetation areas directly exposed to the gas plume. It was shown that in the presence of the greenbelt, the chlorine concentrations were lessened by a factor of 4 at a distance of 5 m downstream from the source. This dilution ability vanished swiftly with the distance downstream from the greenbelt.     

大空间仓库堆垛特性对水炮雾状射流灭火性能影响的实验研究

大空间堆垛储物仓库的消防安全日益引起重视,自动消防炮灭火系统已广泛应用其中。堆垛物遮挡和柱状射流特性对水炮灭火有影响,雾状射流由于覆盖区域增大可提高灭火效率,堆垛特性可能会影响雾状射流灭火效果,目前缺乏相关研究。通过预喷水、布水和灭火实验研究大空间仓库堆垛特性对水炮雾状射流喷水强度分布和灭火性能的影响。结果表明:该文所研究自动消防炮(安装高度8m,雾化角度90°)在5m至15m射程间,能够有效扑灭或控制大空间仓库火灾;喷水强度和有效保护面积随射程的增大而减小,仓库危险级Ⅰ级和Ⅱ级储物高度为3.0m-3.5m时有效保护面积在5m射程处分别为27.5m2和25.5m2;堆垛高度一定时存在最小堆垛间距,小于此值时火灾将不能被扑灭或控制。     

Transient large-scale chlorine releases in the Jack Rabbit II field tests: Rainout source data analysis from video records

Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Science & Technology (DHS S&T) Chemical Security Analysis Center (CSAC), the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), Transport Canada, and Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC), the Jack Rabbit II tests were designed to release liquid chlorine at ambient temperature in quantities of 5–20 T for the purpose of quantifying the behavior and hazards of catastrophic chlorine releases at scales represented by rail and truck transport vessels. In 2015, five successful field trials were conducted in which chlorine was released in quantities of 5–10 tons through a 6-inch circular breach in the tank and directed vertically downward at 1 m elevation over a concrete pad. In 2016, three additional trials were conducted with releases of 10 tons also through 6-inch circular breaches at different release orientations. A final 20 ton test was conducted in 2016. Data from the test program is available. This paper summarizes an analysis of the available data from the concrete pad including analysis of the temperature measurements above and below grade in the concrete pad. Assessment of the chlorine rainout is estimated based on temperature measurements and available video data analysis.     

基于数值模拟的扇形水幕阻挡稀释氯气扩散的影响因素研究

在重气储罐区内设置喷射水幕是安全隔离、控制重气泄漏后扩散和减缓事故后果严重程度的重要措施之一。为此,利用计算流体力学(CFD)模型建立了氯气泄漏扩散模型,对扇形水幕阻挡稀释氯气扩散过程进行了动态模拟及影响因素分析,分别模拟了外界风速、水幕的喷射角度、水幕距泄漏源距离、水幕流量和水幕液滴直径等参数对氯气泄漏后扩散的影响情况。结果表明,合理地设置水幕能够有效阻挡氯气的扩散、缩短危险距离和减少危害面积。在大气稳定的情况下,外界风速、水幕的喷射角度、水幕距泄漏源距离、水幕流量等参数、水幕液滴直径是影响扇形水幕阻挡氯气扩散的重要因素。其中水幕距泄漏源距离和水幕流量2个因素对阻挡稀释效果的影响比较明显,水幕距泄漏源的距离越小,水幕的动量越大,阻挡稀释效果越好,水幕流量适中时效果最好,流量过大或过小阻挡稀释效果都要差一些。因此,合理设置相关参数有利于提高水幕性能,更加有效地降低氯气泄漏事故的后果。     

水喷淋控制烟气输运的大涡模拟研究

本文采用大涡模拟方法研究了烟气输运和水喷淋之间的相互作用问题。研究目的是探讨水喷淋（或细水雾）对烟气输运的控制和抑制的有效性和要行性。为了有效地模拟烟气输运过程，本文采用了低马赫数近似下的三维可压缩滤波形式的Navier-Stokes方程进行有限差分法数值求解。烟气的生成和运动采用携带燃烧反应热的Lagrangian粒子（热元模型）来模拟，同时喷淋器喷出的细水雾也采用模型模拟。在本文的研究中，烟气由一个独立的火池产生并且被一股来流（或风）驱动，从而在一个方形槽道里形成烟气输运，在火池下游槽道的顶部布置若干个喷淋器并喷出水雾，以便探讨水雾对烟气输运的控制作用。本文着重分析讨论了不同喷淋角和水雾半径下水雾对烟气输运的控制和抑制效果。     

Thermal shielding by water spray curtain

The mitigation of the consequences of storage-tank fire is a great safety concern in petro-chemical and gas industries. A technique to protect the integrity of neighbouring structures is the water spray curtain. It can be operating downward in front of or oriented to the surface to be shielded. Simple modelling, laboratory experiments and field tests for these two types of thermal shielding are presented.

Attenuation factor of 50–75% can be expected with the vertical curtain while 90% can be reached with the impinging curtain if spray overlapping is achieved.     

3-D dispersion model for simulation of accidental toxic gas releases in a metropolitan area

Computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations were performed to assess the potential chlorine leak scenario in the super-urban area of South Korea, where the human population density is very high and numerous buildings exist near operational water treatment facilities. Flame acceleration simulator (FLACS) was used to predict the consequence from accidental chlorine releases out of one of the water treatment facilities for the nearby area having a size of 5 km × 3 km approximately. The ability to precisely implement 3-D geometries is crucial for a successful 3-D simulation. Thus, a method was proposed to rapidly and accurately implement geometry by importing computer aided-design (CAD) files provided by a government agency, and processing them using Auto CAD and MicroStation software programs. An accidental release from an 18-ton tank was simulated with three different wind directions to determine the expected evacuation distances. Results from the study showed that the endpoint distances varied depending on the density and arrangement of the buildings. Moreover, we employed physical barriers with varying heights for mitigating the effects of toxic gas releases and simulated how effectively they decreased the concentration of released chlorine.     

From laboratory simulation to scale-up and design of spray barriers mitigating toxic gaseous releases

Simulation of a process by means of physical models at a reduced scale is an essential tool in many application, allowing to perform a large number of experimental runs, so as to obtain a quantitative representation of the involved phenomena, at relatively low cost. Some difficulties can arise when the mathematical model derived from the simulation is applied to a real scale problem, in that the scaling of some empirical coefficients with the system size is not obvious at all. As fluid barrier scaling is a difficult task, still not deeply investigated in the scientific literature, the focus of this study is to translate knowledge from research on this topic into practice for industrial application. Following an extensive and accurate experimental work in wind tunnel, the main parameters determining the effectiveness of containment, absorption and dilution of chlorine releases were determined and a mathematical model is developed. In order to frame proper scale-up strategies, the most important result of this study rests on the explicit formulae giving, as a function of the aforesaid parameters, the single pass efficiency, the global absorption efficiency, and the toxic gas concentration downwind the barrier. In the far field, the gas concentration is practically determined only by the rate of atmospheric dispersion of the mass flow-rate of gas escaping the abatement. The absorption efficiencies are related to the drop size and to the mass transfer coefficients in the gas and liquid phases. The mean drop diameter plays an essential role in the absorption efficiency, since it simultaneously acts on air entrainment, interfacial surface and mass transfer coefficient in the gas phase. The evaluation of the mitigation effect for an industrial installation requires the scaling of the entrainment coefficient experimentally determined from wind tunnel testing. All the scaling criteria needed for adapting the proposed model to the design of a spray curtain suitable for the protection from a chlorine release, are amply discussed presenting some carefully designed simulations. Owing to its rather general structure, the model can be applied to different gaseous releases and/or absorbing solutions, provided that proper values of the parameters related with the chemical and physical absorption of the involved substances be theoretically or experimentally obtained in advance.     

LNG accident dynamic simulation: Application for hazardous consequence reduction

The evaluation of exclusion (hazard) zones around the LNG stations is essential for risk assessment in LNG industry. In this study, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations have been conducted for the two potential hazards, LNG flammable vapor dispersion and LNG pool fire radiation, respectively, to evaluate the exclusion zones. The spatial and temporal distribution of hazard in complex spill scenario has been taken into account in the CFD model. Experimental data from Falcon and Montoir field tests have been used to validate the simulation results. With the valid CFD model, the mitigation of the vapor dispersion with spray water curtains and the pool fire with high expansion foam were investigated. The spray water curtains were studied as a shield to prevent LNG vapor dispersing, and two types of water spray curtain, flat and cone, were analyzed to show their performance for reduction and minimization of the hazard influencing distance and area. The high expansion foam firefighting process was studied with dynamic simulation of the foam action, and the characteristics of the foam action on the reduction of LNG vaporization rate, vapor cloud and flame size as well as the thermal radiation hazard were analyzed and discussed.     

Numerical simulation of water curtain application for ammonia release dispersion

Using water curtain system to forced mitigate ammonia vapor cloud has been proven to be an effective measure. Currently, no engineering guidelines for designing an effective water curtain system are available, due to lack of understanding of complex interactions between ammonia vapor cloud and water droplets, especially the understanding of ammonia absorption into water droplets. This paper presents numerical calculations to reproduce the continuous ammonia release dispersion with and without the mitigating influence of a downwind water curtain using computational fluid dynamic (CFD) software ANSYS Fluent 14.0. The turbulence models k–ɛ and RNG were used to simulate the ammonia cloud dispersion without downwind water curtain. The simulated results were compared with literature using the statistical performance indicators. The RNG model represents better agreement with the experimental data and the k–ɛ model generates a slightly lesser result. The RNG model coupled with Lagrangian discrete phase model (DPM) was used to simulate the dilution effectiveness of the water curtain system. The ammonia absorption was taken into account by means of user-defined functions (UDF). The simulated effectiveness of water curtains has good agreements with the experimental results. The effectiveness of water mitigation system with and without the ammonia absorption was compared. The results display that the effectiveness mainly depends on the strong air entrainment enhanced by water droplets movement and the ammonia absorption also enhances the effectiveness of water curtain mitigation system. The study indicates that the CFD code can be satisfactorily applied in design criteria for an effective mitigation system.     

Modelling the mitigation of a hydrogen deflagration in a nuclear waste silo ullage with water fog

During the decommissioning of certain legacy nuclear waste storage plants it is possible that significant releases of hydrogen gas could occur. Such an event could result in the formation of a flammable mixture within the silo ullage and, hence, the potential risk of ignition and deflagration occurring, threatening the structural integrity of the silo. Very fine water mist fogs have been suggested as a possible method of mitigating the overpressure rise, should a hydrogen–air deflagration occur. In the work presented here, the FLACS CFD code has been used to predict the potential explosion overpressure reduction that might be achieved using water fog mitigation for a range of scenarios where a hydrogen–air mixture, of a pre-specified concentration (containing 800 L of hydrogen), uniformly fills a volume located in a model silo ullage space, and is ignited giving rise to a vented deflagration. The simulation results suggest that water fog could significantly reduce the peak explosion overpressure, in a silo ullage, for lower concentration hydrogen–air mixtures up to 20%, but would require very high fog densities to be achieved to mitigate 30% hydrogen–air mixtures.     

不同隧道坡度下射流风机临界风速研究

为研究隧道坡度对射流风机临界风速的影响，通过理论分析与数值模拟，采用全尺寸隧道模型和5种不同火源功率，考虑0%，±1%，±3%，±5%，±7% 9种不同隧道坡度，研究隧道坡度对射流风机临界风速的影响规律。结果表明:坡度对射流风机临界风速有较大影响。在射流风机与火源纵向间距不小于100 m情况下，即其临界风速与火源纵向间距无关；当上坡时，其临界风速与火源功率的1/3次方成正比，坡度越大，临界风速越小；当下坡时，其临界风速与火源功率的1/3次方成正比，坡度（绝对值）越大，临界风速越大；对数据结果进行拟合，得到上坡与下坡时的射流风机临界风速模型，并与模拟结果取得了较好的一致性。     

Design of a system for real-time modelling of the dispersion of hazardous gas releases in industrial plants 2. Accidental releases from storage installations

This paper is the second part of a research programme concerning the modelling capabilities of accidental releases of heavier-than-air toxic gases. The existing theory, which includes the strength of the source and the subsequent development of the released cloud under representative environmental conditions, is described. Comparison of the ZZB-2 system predictions with field data from the Desert Tortoise and Lyme Bay V, ammonia and chlorine releases, shows excellent agreement at distances between ≈ 200 m and a few kilometres from the source. The correlation between observed and predicted cloud concentrations, was in all cases significant at a confidence level better than 95%.     

扁平大空间建筑烟气蔓延影响因素研究

为研究扁平大空间内烟气蔓延影响因素,通过FDS火灾模拟软件对上海某商业综合体的商场进行模型建立,利用计算机模拟,逐一研究了水喷淋,挡烟垂壁高度,排烟口大小、数量,补风方式、补风量对烟气蔓延的影响,通过对比得出结论:增加挡烟垂壁高度对烟气蔓延影响有限,而去除水喷淋对烟气蔓延速度及质量浓度影响最大,烟气蔓延至各测点时间最多加快超过100 s,各测点烟气单位长度消光率最多上升69.51%/m;减小补风量至50%与去除水喷淋对烟气分布影响效果相当,在进行防排烟设计优化时,应优先考虑水喷淋与补风量;此外排烟量保持不变,改变排烟口数量及大小对烟气影响主要体现为蔓延速度变化。     

Using consequence analysis on some chlorine operation hazards and their possible effects on neighborhoods in central Taiwan

The applications of chlorine have been broadly used in many industrial products, such as bleaching agents, synthetic rubbers, plastics, disinfectants, iron chlorides, fire refractory materials, insecticides, and anti-freezers, etc. According to the Taiwan Environmental Protection Administration (TEPA), more than 30 thousand tons were used in the year 2000. In addition, there were more than 12 reported incidents from 2000 to 2003—mostly on using chlorine as disinfectants (five) and as process agents (four).

This study investigated 15 chlorine operation plants in central Taiwan. These chlorine usages included bleaching agents, disinfectants, iron chloride, synthesizing rubber plastics, and others. Thirteen plants were located in the industrial parks and two were in or near residential zones. The consequence analysis were used three different methods to analyze the worst-case scenarios (WCSs) and alternative release case scenarios (ACSs) in order to compare impact zones for applying various active and passive mitigation systems, such as confined space, scrubber, water-spray, and so no. For two plants in or near residential zones, multi-layers mitigation systems and operation limits should be implemented in order to enforce more stringent protection measures. However, there was no specific regulation for chlorine plants operated at different locations, such as industrial parks or residential zones. In order to reduce chemical accidents and their impacts on public safety, our results suggest that source mitigation/management and warning systems should be adopted simultaneously.     

A simplified steady-state model for air,water and steam curtains

Curtain mitigation systems are modeled here since they have experimentally shown their efficiency in reducing the concentration of certain toxic gases within dense gas clouds. Air, water and steam are analyzed in a model as the physical barriers to decrease the gas concentration. The model, developed for a steady-state mitigation process, is based on the mass, energy and momentum conservation laws. Concentration estimations during the dispersion before and after the mitigation are performed with a SLAB type model. A sensitivity analysis for each model is given to detect which variables have bigger effects. A release of chlorine is used as an example and the results are calculated in a prototype developed in Visual C++, where the model is solved using the Runge–Kutta 4th order method. The results include the effects of composition, speed, temperature and height of the releasing point as well as a comparison with CFD simulations. The proposed model is simplified and it cannot reproduce eddy effects but it is fast and robust enough. The model provides a set of equations that can be used in numerical problems where explicit derivatives are required, e.g. optimizations procedures.     

Study on convection and dispersion characteristics of dense gases in urban environment considering trees

Although several studies on the dispersion of heavy toxic gas released from ruptured tanks on vehicles during transportation have considered complex terrain such as urban buildings, the influence of trees on the flow field in urban areas during gas dispersion tends to be ignored. In this study, a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model was proposed to investigate the characteristics of gas release and dispersion from loaded vehicle in the urban environment. In this model, the tree crown was treated as a porous medium, and the influence of drag due to the crown was incorporated into the model by a momentum source term through a user-defined function. In this study, the dynamic characteristics of chlorine (Cl₂) dispersion under the conditions of building distribution, tree species and porosities were comprehensively analysed, to cover the influence of urban complexity, leaf density, and tree planting configuration. The results show that compared with flat terrain, the presence of urban buildings will prolong the dense gas retention time and increase the dangerous distance. It is found that the horizontal dispersion distance can increase by 63% and the isosurface of 25 ppm hazardous gas can increase by 130% with the introduction of buildings. Compared with the terrain with only buildings, the introduction of arbors or shrubs can result in a 147% or 359% increase in the maximum concentration. Also, trees will prolong the dispersion duration. It is also found that the higher the porosity, the less the wind blocking effect, and the weaker the ability of capturing gas. The wind field affected by arbores and shrubs are different in height, and arbores capture more Cl₂. Planting short shrubs around buildings can effectively reduce the spread of harmful gases.     

Release and dispersion behaviour of carbon dioxide released from a small-scale underground pipeline

The development of carbon capture and storage (CCS) brings challenges for safety issues regarding carbon dioxide (CO₂) transmission pipelines. Once a pipeline is punctured or full-bore ruptured, the leaked CO₂ is hazardous to personnel and the environment. Small-scale devices were established with the aim of studying the release and dispersion behaviour of gas and liquid CO₂ from a punctured underground pipeline. A sandbox was built to simulate the underground conditions. The parameters of the sand used in the experiments were tested. CO₂ concentrations on the ground and temperatures around the release orifice in the sand were analysed. The results indicate that in the CO₂ gas release experiments, the CO₂ concentration on the sand surface decreases with increasing horizontal distance in the form of a power function. CO₂ concentrations in upward release are slightly larger than those in horizontal release at the same location but are obviously bigger than values in downward release. The temperature-drop region is much smaller than that in air. A frozen ice ball can be generated near the release orifice during the gas phase of the CO₂-release process. In the liquid phase of CO₂-release experiments, a large amount of dry ice is generated near the release orifice. Dry ice can only be generated in the area close to the release orifice, especially in the near-field area.     

Key parametric analysis on designing an effective forced mitigation system for LNG spill emergency

Concerns over public safety and security of a potential liquefied natural gas (LNG) spill have promoted the need for continued improvement of safety measures for LNG facilities. The mitigation techniques have been recognized as one of the areas that require further investigation to determine the public safety impact of an LNG spill. Forced mitigation of LNG vapors using a water curtain system has been proven to be effective in reducing the vapor concentration by enhancing the dispersion. Currently, no engineering criteria for designing an effective water curtain system are available, mainly due to a lack of understanding of the complex droplet–vapor interaction. This work applies computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling to evaluate various key design parameters involved in the LNG forced mitigation using an upwards-oriented full-cone water spray. An LNG forced dispersion model based on a Eulerian–Lagrangian approach was applied to solve the physical interactions of the droplet–vapor system by taking into account the various effects of the droplets (discrete phase) on the air–vapor mixture (continuous phase). The effects of different droplet sizes, droplet temperatures, air entrainment rates, and installation configurations of water spray applications on LNG vapor behavior are investigated. Finally, the potential of applying CFD modeling in providing guidance for setting up the design criteria for an effective forced mitigation system as an integrated safety element for LNG facilities is discussed.