CFD simulations of dust dispersion in the 1 m3 explosion vessel

According to standard procedures, flammability and explosion parameters for dusts and dust mixtures are evaluated in 20 L and/or 1 m³ vessels, with equivalent results provided a correct ignition delay time (60 ms in the 20 L vessel; 600 ms in the 1 m³ vessel). In this work, CFD simulations of flow field and dust concentration distribution in the 1 m³ spherical vessel are performed, and the results compared to the data previously obtained for the 20 L. It has been found that in the 1 m³ vessel, the spatial distribution of the turbulent kinetic energy is lower and much more uniform. Concerning the dust distribution, as in the case of the 20 L, dust is mainly concentrated at the outer zones of the vortices generated inside the vessel. Furthermore, an incomplete feeding is attained, with most of the dust trapped in the perforated annular nozzle. Starting from the maps of dust concentration and turbulent kinetic energy, the deflagration index K_St is calculated in both vessels. In the conditions of the present work, the K_St is found to be 2.4 times higher in the 20 L than in the 1 m³ vessel.     

Pool evaporation: Experimental tests at medium-scale with gasoline

Pool evaporation is a major source of flammable vapour clouds. Predicting the evaporation rate of a liquid hydrocarbon pool is therefore a key issue of dispersion modelling for safety concerns. This paper presents small- and medium-scale experiments of pool evaporation carried out with liquid hydrocarbons (pentane, heptane), hydrocarbon “gasoline-like” mixtures and gasoline. Liquid mass loss was measured and the evaporation rate deduced with its evolution in time. Other observations are highlighted, regarding the evolution of liquid temperatures, mixture compositions, and scale effects like the influence of pool length on surface evaporation rate. Comparisons with well-known correlations are then shown. The authors finally suggest a new semi-empirical correlation with a set of parameters fitted on the performed experiments.     

Influence of the shape of mitigation barriers on heavy gas dispersion

Regasification plants have become an emerging risk because their numbers are increasing and concern from the general population towards these systems has grown. Consequently, there is increased interest in investigating the effect of mitigation measures to limit the impact of large accidents on the population living close to the plant. Among the various possible mitigation measures, physical barriers present several advantages; however, it is known that the necessary barrier height can became impracticably large to be effective in mitigating the consequences of a large LNG release. Therefore, computational fluid dynamics models were used in this work to analyze the performance of mitigation barriers with different shapes to investigate the possibility of increasing mitigation barrier efficiency by simply changing the main geometrical characteristics of the barrier such as roughness, battlements, or even holes.     

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.     

Experimental investigation of outdoor and indoor mean concentrations and concentration fluctuations of pollutants

Tracer gas was released upwind of a two-compartment complex shaped building under unstable atmospheric conditions. The mean wind direction was normal to or at 45° to the long face of the building. The general patterns of concentration distribution on the building external walls and inside the building were analysed and the influence of natural and mechanical ventilation on indoor concentration distributions was discussed. Mean concentration levels, as well as the concentration fluctuation intensity, were higher on the windward walls of the building, although concentration levels varied along each wall. Concentration fluctuations measured inside the building were lower than those measured outside. Inside the two compartments of the building, the time series of concentrations had a similar general behaviour; however, gas concentrations took approximately 1.5 times longer to reach the mean maximum concentration value at the downwind compartment 02 while they also decreased more rapidly in the upwind compartment 01 after the source was turned off. The highest indoor concentration and concentration fluctuation values were observed at the detectors located close to the windward walls, especially when the building windows were open. Experiments with and without natural ventilation suggested that infiltration and exfiltration of contaminants is much faster when the building windows are open, resulting to higher indoor concentration levels. Furthermore, mechanical ventilation tends to homogenize concentrations and suppress concentration fluctuations, leading to lower maximum concentration values.     

基于车流和大气污染物浓度同步增量的机动车平均排放因子估算方法

机动车尾气排放已成为城市大气污染的主要来源并受到了高度关注.机动车排放因子是反映机动车排放状况的最基本参数,但实测排放因子代价较高、代表范围有限,基于国外排放模式估算的排放因子又与我国的实际排放状况存在一定差距.本研究首先基于早高峰时段车流量和道路附近大气污染物浓度呈近线性增加、气象条件和背景污染物浓度相对稳定的特征,将时段内污染物浓度的增加主要归因为车流的增加,从而建立车流和污染物浓度增量之间的关系;然后采用无限线源高斯扩散模式,反推道路实际行驶机动车的平均排放因子.以北京市一条主干道为例,利用早高峰车流量、污染物浓度、气象观测数据,进行了实例研究,并将研究结果同COPERT4排放模型的预测结果进行了对比.本研究和COPERT4排放模型预测的8月一氧化碳平均排放因子分别为2.0 g·km-1和1.2 g·km-1,12月分别为5.5 g·km-1和5.2 g·km-1.结果表明,本方法估算的机动车排放因子在数值大小及季节变化上均与COPERT4排放模型较为接近.所提方法通过消除背景浓度的干扰,为实时获取车队实际排放因子提供了一种新思路.     

浅议AP1000核电建造过程本质安全化

为推进我国核电产业技术水平的整体跨越,实现我国第三代核电AP1000的自主化过程中的安全,国家核电技术公司（以下简称“国家核电”）在建造过程中通过加强从业人员安全培训、企业安全文化建设和依托项目的安全管理,大力提升人的本质安全化水平;广泛采用新技术、改进施工工艺,实行模块化、专业化施工,加大安全基础设施投入力度,强化建造过程中的安全控制,努力打造核电建造过程中物的本质安全;完善安全管理制度,建设安全责任体系和监督体系,持续提高管理上的本质安全。     

危险化学品泄漏扩散模型的研究现状分析与比较

为了对危险化学品港口装卸过程中泄漏危险度进行量化评定,基于泄漏扩散模型提高港口的应急处理技术,对危险化学品泄漏扩散模型的研究现状从理论研究、试验研究、应用研究3方面进行深入分析。着重对高斯模型(Gaussian model),BM模型,Sutton模型,FEM3模型,箱及相似模型,P-G模型等模型从理论描述方法、适用对象和范围、计算精度和难易、参数选取等方面进行优缺点的对比研究,认为:由于危险化学品泄漏和扩散行为的复杂性,影响因素的多样性,使各类模型在具备一定的理论价值和现实意义的同时,还存在着参数选取不确定性、试验模拟差异性以及实际应用局限性的问题和不足,运用计算机技术完善试验结果数据库、改进数学仿真模型是其进一步研究发展的趋势。