Comparison of techniques for accident scenario analysis in hazardous systems

In this paper, three accident scenario analysis techniques are presented and compared regarding their efficiency vs. the demanded resources. The complexity of modern industrial systems has prompted the development of accident analysis techniques that should thoroughly investigate accidents. The idea of criteria classification to fulfill this requirement has been proposed by other researchers and is examined here too. The comparison is done through the application of Event Tree analysis, Fault Tree analysis and Petri Nets technique—two relatively simple and a more demanding methodology—on the same hazardous chemical facility in view of analyzing an accident scenario of a hazardous transfer procedure. Accident scenario analysis techniques are essential not only in learning lessons from unfortunate events in the chemical industry but also in preventing the occurrence of such events in the future and in communicating risk more efficiently.     

Estimation of explosion energy based on fragment characteristics

Explosions of vessels containing high pressure gases or superheated liquids are a common accident in the chemical industry. Fragments are the most information-rich physical evidence in accident analysis. A method is presented to calculate the total explosion energy based on the characteristics of fragments from the scene of an accident, such as mass, horizontal displacement, etc. The implicit expressions of the initial velocity can be obtained through analysing the trajectory equations of the fragments and the data obtained from the scene of the accident. The total energy is calculated from the relationship between the total explosion energy and the kinetic energy of the fragment. During the calculation there are some uncertain parameters, e.g., the energy factor and the initial angle. To solve the parameter uncertainties, a Monte-Carlo simulation is introduced. Analysis of an industrial accident shows that it is feasible to estimate the total explosion energy using the maximum probability density interval with the proposed methodology.     

某储罐区火灾多米诺效应场景推演

化工园区中危险源众多,一旦发生事故很容易在整个园区内蔓延和发展。针对化工园区内储罐密集,容易引发连锁反应导致事故扩大的特点,利用FDS软件对储罐火灾场景进行数值模拟,根据储罐所受热辐射确定化工园区内储罐火灾最可能的事故发生序列,并引入基于设备失效前时间的机械设备故障概率模型对罐区内单个储罐的火灾风险进行研究,得到储罐区火灾多米诺效应的时空演变。以某储罐区火灾为例,对多米诺效应下的火灾场景进行推演,结果表明该方法可以准确地预测多米诺效应过程中储罐的火灾风险,为化工园区应急响应提供有效支持。     

Application of domino effect quantitative risk assessment to an extended industrial area

Escalation of primary accidental scenarios triggering a “domino effect” have caused extremely severe accidental events in the chemical and process industry. The identification of possible escalation events is required in the safety assessment of sites where relevant quantities of hazardous substances are stored or handled. In the European Union, “Seveso-II” Directive requires the assessment of on-site and off-site possible escalation scenarios in sites falling under the obligations of the Directive. In the present study, a methodology developed for the quantitative assessment of risk due to domino effect was applied to the analysis of an extended industrial area. Recently developed equipment damage probability models were applied for the identification of the final scenarios and for escalation probability assessment. The domino package of the Aripar-GIS software was used for risk recomposition. The results evidence that quantitative risk assessment of escalation hazard is of fundamental importance in order to identify critical equipment and to address prevention and protection actions.     

Assessment of risks posed by chemical industries—application of a new computer automated tool maxcred-III

The paper describes the application of a new computer automated tool, developed by us, in the risk analysis of a typical chemical industry engaged in the manufacture of linear alkyl benzene. Using the tool—a comprehensive software package maxcred-III (MAXimum CREDible accident analysis)—nine different scenarios, one for each storage unit, have been studied. It is observed that the accident scenario for chlorine (instantaneous release followed by dispersion) leads to the largest area-under-lethal-impact, while the accident scenario for propylene (CVCE followed by fireball) forecasts the most intense damage per unit area. The accidents involving propylene, benzene, and fuel oil have a high possibility of causing domino/secondary accidents as their destructive impacts (shock waves, heat load) would envelope other storage and process units.Besides demonstrating the utilizability of maxcred-III, this study also focuses attention on the need to bestow greater effort towards risk assessment/crisis management. The authors hope that the study will highlight the severity of the risk posed by the industry and thus generate safety consciousness among plant managers. The study may also help in developing accident-prevention strategies and the installation of damage control devices.     

重大危险源事故风险排序研究

本文将风险管理领域中风险排序的概念引入重大危险源安全管理中，提出了基于事故情景发生概率和造成死亡人数的风险评估和排序模型，并给出了基于统计分析的事故发生概率、基于死亡半径的死亡人数的确定方法。对某开发区的20个重大危险源进行了风险评估和排序，结果表明提出的方法对重大危险源的事故风险产生了明显的细分作用。研究成果对有关政府部门或企业确定重大危险源重点监察和管理的优先序，优化资源配置，提高管理效率具有一定的指导意义。     

ExSys-LOPA for the chemical process industry

The chemical process industries are characterized by the use, processing, and storage of large amounts of dangerous chemical substances and/or energy. Among different missions of chemical plants there are two very important ones, which: 1. provide a safe work environment, 2. fully protect the environment. These important missions can be achieved only by design of adequate safeguards for identified process hazards. Layer of Protection Analysis (LOPA) can successfully answer this question. This technique is a simplified process of quantitative risk assessment, using the order of magnitude categories for initiating cause frequency, consequence severity, and the likelihood of failure of independent protection layers to analyze and assess the risk of particular accident scenarios. LOPA requires application of qualitative hazard evaluation methods to identify accident scenarios, including initiating causes and appropriate safeguards. This can be well fulfilled, e.g., by HAZOP Studies or What-If Analysis. However, those techniques require extensive experience, efforts by teams of experts as well as significant time commitments, especially for complex chemical process units. In order to simplify that process, this paper presents another strategy that is a combination of an expert system for accident scenario identification with subsequent application of LOPA. The concept is called ExSys-LOPA, which employs, prepared in advance, values from engineering databases for identification of loss events specific to the selected target process and subsequently a accident scenario barrier model developed as an input for LOPA. Such consistent rules for the identification of accident scenarios to be analyzed can facilitate and expedite the analysis and thereby incorporate many more scenarios and analyze those for adequacy of the safeguards. An associated computer program is under development. The proposed technique supports and extends the Layer of Protection Analysis application, especially for safety assurance assessment of risk-based determination for the process industries. A case study concerning HF alkylation plant illustrates the proposed method.     

A novel methodology for evaluating the change of existing operational staffing levels (MCSL) in the chemical industry

Operational manning levels in the chemical industry not reflecting real circumstances and/or not taking into account various possible accident scenarios can be financially adversarial and can even lead to (minor and major) accidents. This paper provides a methodology to assist chemical companies in analyzing changes of their existing operational staffing levels. The method can be implemented within the entire organization or within a part thereof (i.e., a business unit or an installation). The method has been applied in a major chemical company in Belgium. The Belgian case illustrates the user-friendliness of the suggested manning level risk analysis method.     

A safety barrier-based accident model for offshore drilling blowouts

Blowout is one of the most serious accidents in the offshore oil and gas industry. Accident records show that most of the offshore blowouts have occurred in the drilling phase. Efficient measures to prevent, mitigate, and control offshore drilling blowouts are important for the entire offshore oil and gas industry. This article proposes a new barrier-based accident model for drilling blowouts. The model is based on the three-level well control theory, and primary and secondary well control barriers and an extra well monitoring barrier are established between the reservoir and the blowout event. The three barriers are illustrated in a graphical model that is similar to the well-known Swiss cheese model. Five additional barriers are established to mitigate and control the blowout accident, and event tree analysis is used to analyze the possible consequence chains. Based on statistical data and literature reviews, failures of each barrier are presented. These failures can be used as guidance for offshore drilling operators to become aware of the vulnerabilities of the safety barrier system, and to assess the risk related to these barriers. The Macondo accident is used as a case study to show how the new model can be used to understand the development of the events leading to the accident. The model can also be used as an aid to prevent future blowouts or to stop the escalation of events.     

A conceptual offshore oil and gas process accident model

The purpose of this paper is to present and discuss an accident prevention model for offshore oil and gas processing environments. The accidents that are considered in this work relate specifically to hydrocarbon release scenarios and any escalating events that follow. Using reported industry data, the elements to prevent an accident scenario are identified and placed within a conceptual model to depict the accident progression. The proposed accident model elements are represented as safety barriers designed to prevent the accident scenario from developing. The accident model is intended to be a tool for highlighting vulnerabilities of oil and gas processing operations and to provide guidance on how to minimize their hazards. These vulnerabilities are discussed by applying the 1988 Piper Alpha and the 2005 BP Texas City disaster scenarios to the model.     

LNG as a potential alternative fuel - Safety and security of storage facilities

The aim of this article is to summarize the safety and security aspects of storing of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) as a potential alternative fuel. The contribution deals with possible scenarios of accidents associated with LNG storage facilities and with a methodology for the assessment of vulnerability of such facilities. The protection of LNG storage facilities as element of critical infrastructure should also be a matter of interest to the state. The study presents the results of determination of hazardous zones around LNG facilities in the event of various sorts of release. For calculations, the programs ALOHA, EFFECTS and TerEx were used and results obtained were compared. Scenarios modelled within this study represent a possible approach to the preliminary assessment of risk that should be verified by more detailed modelling (CFD). These scenarios can also be used for a quick estimation of areas endangered by an incident or accident. The results of modelling of the hazardous zones contribute to a reduction in risk of major accidents associated with these potential alternative energy sources.     

Modeling and algorithm of domino effect in chemical industrial parks using discrete isolated island method

Studies on domino effect in chemical industrial parks are crucial for avoiding accident escalation. Domino effect network (DEN) may be formed as a consequence of widely distribution of major hazard installations (MHIs) in chemical industrial parks. To decrease accident scale and prevent catastrophic consequence, it is essential to cut off the relations between entities in a DEN during accident periods. Focusing on this aspect, based on the conceptual model of discrete isolated island (DII) discussed, an objective function was brought out to evaluate the linking level of the whole park; while to help determine the dominant MHI (namely Domino hub in a DEN), equations for calculating accident escalation factor (AEF) was advanced. Further, an algorithm was developed for the proposed model. Application showed that the proposed model, which is capable of providing possible ways to determine the dominant MHI contributing to domino effect, was quite useful and effective for choosing technical prevention measures to enhance the safety level of chemical industrial parks.     

Real-time risk assessment of explosion on offshore platform using Bayesian network and CFD

Combustion or explosion accident resulting from accidental hydrocarbon release poses a severe threat to the offshore platform's operational safety. Much attention has been paid to the risk of an accident occurring over a long period, while the real-time risk that escalates from a primary accident to a serious one was ignored. In this study, a real-time risk assessment model is presented for risk analysis of release accidents, which may escalate into a combustion or explosion. The proposed model takes advantage of Fault Tree-Event Tree (FT-ET) to describe the accident scenario, and Bayesian network (BN) to obtain the initial probability of each consequence and describe the dependencies among safety barriers. Besides, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is applied to handle the relationship between gas dispersion and time-dependent risk. Ignition probability model that considering potential ignition sources, gas cloud, and time series are also integrated into this framework to explain the likelihood of accident evolution. A case of release accidents on a production platform is used to test the availability and effectiveness of the proposed methodology, which can be adopted for facilities layout optimization and ignition sources control.     

Accident modelling and analysis in process industries

Accident modelling is a methodology used to relate the causes and effects of events that lead to accidents. This modelling effectively seeks to answer two main questions: (i) Why does an accident occur, and (ii) How does it occur. This paper presents a review of accident models that have been developed for the chemical process industry with in-depth analyses of a class of models known as dynamic sequential accident models (DSAMs). DSAMs are sequential models with a systematic procedure to utilise precursor data to estimate the posterior risk profile quantitatively. DSAM also offers updates on the failure probabilities of accident barriers and the prediction of future end states. Following a close scrutiny of these methodologies, several limitations are noted and discussed, and based on these insights, future work is suggested to enhance and improve this category of models further.     

化工过程中毒事故风险的模糊综合评估

影响化工过程中毒事故风险性的不确定因素较多,其风险具有相对性且大部分因素具有模糊性的特点。为此,笔者建立了化工过程多级多指标中毒事故风险评估指标体系,根据模糊优选理论,提出了中毒事故风险的模糊综合评估模型,运用模糊层次分析法确定各指标权重,结合有关统计数据及工厂实际,对化工过程潜在的中毒事故风险性进行模糊综合评估,所获结果为化工过程中毒事故的综合防治提供了理论依据     

基于风险的化工园区布局优化决策支持系统

为加强化工园区风险辨识和布局优化,主要研究化工园区布局优化决策支持系统。在分析该系统主要功能的基础上,介绍基于风险的化工园区布局优化决策支持系统的理论模型:对化工园区重大危险源事故预测建模,包括重大危险源事故发生概率预测和事故后果预测;从个人风险、社会风险和财产风险3个模型评价化工园区区域动态风险,依据这3种风险值,计算区域综合风险;分别就功能区布局、消防布局和交通布局,对化工园区提出动态布局优化方法和建议措施。通过理论模型建立决策系统软件,结合实证分析,证明该决策支持系统的合理性。     

基于风险熵的化工园区事故风险突变模型研究

为准确判断化工园区事故风险演化进程,基于风险熵理论分析化工园区系统风险状态,从影响园区系统风险熵的不同因素出发,根据化工园区公共区域和企业端的各自特点建立风险熵指标;利用尖点突变理论,用矩阵表征多参数多时刻的风险熵增和熵减值,建立化工园区熵增、熵减计算模型;根据计算结果判断事故风险状态。将所提出的方法应用于某化工园区,结果表明:在该园区某危化品储存企业丁二烯泄漏情况下园区系统风险熵发生突变,由泄漏引发二次事故的风险骤升,需要采取相应安全措施。分析结果与实际情况相符合。     

改进的肯特评分法在化工园区公共管廊中的应用

针对化工园区公共管廊输送介质多样化、风险高、容易引发事故连锁的特点,将肯特评分法进行改进,使其成为适用于化工园区公共管廊的风险评价方法,并利用改进的肯特评分法对常州市滨江化工园区公共管廊进行风险评价。结合实际应用结果表明,改进后的肯特评分法是对化工管廊进行风险评价的有效工具,其评价结果有助于减少事故发生概率和事故发生后损失。     

Stock market responses to chemical accidents in Japan: An event study

Despite recent major chemical process accidents in Japan, the top management teams of firms still avoid taking costly risk reduction measures because of their low perceived impact on firm performance. The disclosure of information on accident risks might motivate managers to enhance workplace safety because of the subsequent evaluation of firms by investors in stock markets. If the disclosed risk information is newly available for investors, firms with a high risk of accidents would receive a poor evaluation by stock markets and thus managers would take risk reduction measures to prevent stock prices from declining. In this study, we conduct an event study analysis to examine whether accident risk information is already reflected in stock prices, using data on the Japanese chemical industry. The results of our event study show that the estimated cumulative average abnormal returns of firms' stocks are significantly negative after severe accidents actually occurred. This finding implies that risk information is not already reflected in the stock prices of Japanese chemical firms and that the disclosure of accident risk information has the potential to motivate the top management teams of firms to reduce their firms’ accident risk.     

基于多米诺效应的定量风险评价研究

多米诺效应是引发化工重大事故的主要原因之一.本文综合国内外的研究成果,对火灾热辐射、冲击波超压等造成的多米诺效应进行了深入分析,建立基于多米诺效应的定量风险评价模型,其中包括了评价流程、传播概率、阈值距离计算、多米诺效应对事故频率的影响及后果分析的内容.最后利用Matlab7.1计算平台,以汽油储罐进行实例分析,结果表明该方法是一种适用于多米诺效应定量评价的良好方法,能够比较科学、有效的对危险单元进行风险评价,使重大事故风险评价更切合实际,为政府监管部门和化工企业进行事故的控制和预防提供决策技术.