Gas explosion analysis of safety gap effect on the innovating FLNG vessel with a cylindrical platform

After investigating gas dispersion on a cylindrical Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG) platform (Li et al, 2016), this second article focuses on assessment of gas explosion by using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). Gas explosion simulations are carried out to evaluate the explosion overpressure mitigating effect of safety gap. The Data-dump technique, which is an effective tool in resetting turbulence length scale in gas explosion overpressure calculation, is applied to ensure simulation accuracy for the congestion scenario with safety gap. Two sets of different safety gaps are designed to investigate the safety gap on the cylindrical FLNG platform, the overall results indicate that the safety gap is effective in reducing overpressure in two adjacent congestions. However, for the explosion scenario where the flame is propagating through several safety gaps to the far field congestion, the safety gap mitigates overpressure only in certain explosion protecting targets. Two series of artificial configurations are modeled to further investigate the explosion scenarios with more than two safety gaps in one direction. It is concluded that the optimal safety gap design in overpressure mitigation for the cylindrical FLNG platform is to balance the safety gap distance ratio in the congested regions.     

A CFD based explosion risk analysis methodology using time varying release rates in dispersion simulations

A full probabilistic Explosion Risk Analysis (ERA) is commonly used to establish overpressure exceedance curves for offshore facilities. This involves modelling a large number of gas dispersion and explosion scenarios. Capturing the time dependant build up and decay of a flammable gas cloud size along with its shape and location are important parameters that can govern the results of an ERA. Dispersion simulations using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) are generally carried out in detailed ERA studies to obtain these pieces of information. However, these dispersion simulations are typically modelled with constant release rates leading to steady state results. The basic assumption used here is that the flammable gas cloud build up rate from these constant release rate dispersion simulations would mimic the actual transient cloud build up rate from a time varying release rate. This assumption does not correctly capture the physical phenomena of transient gas releases and their subsequent dispersion and may lead to very conservative results. This in turn results in potential over design of facilities with implications on time, materials and cost of a project.In the current work, an ERA methodology is proposed that uses time varying release rates as an input in the CFD dispersion simulations to obtain the fully transient flammable gas cloud build-up and decay, while ensuring the total time required to perform the ERA study is also reduced. It was found that the proposed ERA methodology leads to improved accuracy in dispersion results, steeper overpressure exceedance curves and a significant reduction in the Design Accidental Load (DAL) values whilst still maintaining some conservatism and also reducing the total time required to perform an ERA study.     

Effect of separation distance on gas dispersion and vapor cloud explosion in a storage tank farm determined using computational fluid dynamics

Storage tank separation distance, which considerably affects forestalling and mitigating accident consequences, is principally determined by thermal radiation modeling and meeting industry safety requirements. However, little is known about the influence of separation distance on gas dispersion or gas explosion, which are the most destructive types of accidents in industrial settings. This study evaluated the effect of separation distance on gas dispersion and vapor cloud explosion in a storage tank farm. Experiments were conducted using Flame Acceleration Simulator, an advanced computational fluid dynamics software program. Codes governing the design of separation distances in China and the United States were compared. A series of geometrical models of storage tanks with various separation distances were established. Overall, increasing separation distance led to a substantial reduction in vapor cloud volume and size in most cases. Notably, a 1.0 storage diameter separation distance appeared to be optimal. In terms of vapor cloud explosion, a greater separation distance had a marked effect on mitigating overpressure in gas explosions. Therefore, separation distance merited consideration in the design of storage tanks to prevent gas dispersion and explosion.     

Influence of built-in obstacles on unconfined vapor cloud explosion

The obstacle structure in the vapor cloud has a significant influence on the gas explosion. Obstacles could not only lead to the acceleration of flame, but also they may occupy some space, thus affecting the amount of combustible gas. In this paper, a new two-step method was proposed to respectively study the effects of the obstacles amount and volume blockage ratio (VBR) on the gas explosion by using Computation Fluid Dynamic software AutoReaGas, and the obstacles in the vapor cloud were set to “Solid” instead of “Subgrid”. Based on the results and analysis, it is found that the peak overpressure and the maximum combustion rate rise with the increase of the number of obstacles for a single VBR, which indicated that the vapor cloud explosion of more obstacles was more dangerous for a single VBR. However, under a single number of obstacles, the peak overpressure and the maximum combustion rate increase firstly and then decrease as VBR increases and reach the highest at the VBR of 0.74, which indicated that the intensity of vapor cloud explosion reach a peak at a certain VBR in the middle instead of the largest. In addition, the existence and structure of obstacles have little effect on the size of explosion fireball when the size and concentration of combustible gas cloud are the same.     

Advanced CFD modeling on vapor dispersion and vapor cloud explosion

The main objective of this study is to quantify the potential overpressures due to Vapor Cloud Explosions (VCEs) and the potential gas buildup by using Computation Fluid Dynamics (CFD) for onshore or offshore facilities.A series of CFD simulations and analyses have been performed for the various vapor dispersion scenarios, covering different release rates and release locations. The overpressure that could result from the potential VCE is assessed by CFD simulation for the largest explosive transient gas cloud. The results from the analyses also comprise an extensive picture of probable leak scenarios having the potential to make an explosive gas cloud.The CFD analysis results could be applied to provide input for detailed risk-based design and risk analysis, to find safe and cost-optimal design against explosions.     

点火位置对独头巷道中瓦斯爆炸超压的影响

运用AutoReaGas爆炸仿真模拟器研究了独头巷道中点火位置对瓦斯爆炸后果的影响。结果表明,在本计算条件下,爆炸静态超压随着距离的增加而减小,爆炸动压随着距离的增大而增大,点火位置对爆炸后果有重要影响,点火位置离封闭端越近,各个测点上所得到的超压越大。     

空间阻塞对室内燃气泄漏爆炸影响研究

以餐饮企业的熟食操作间为例建立物理模型,通过CFD方法模拟不同空间阻塞度下天然气泄漏爆炸情形。研究结果表明:阻塞率在99.95%~100%时,燃气浓度呈现反抛物线式上升。空间阻塞率在99.982%时（开敞面积1 m2）,泄漏1 200 s,熟食操作间燃气浓度值可达6%;空间阻塞率在99.955%（开敞面积2.5 m2）~100%时,燃气爆炸后熟食操作间内产生的超压最大值均大于30 kPa;当空间阻塞率在99.991%（开敞面积0.5 m2）~100%时,设定工况下爆炸超压随空间阻塞率呈指数式增加。研究认为,空间阻塞率在99.95%以上,燃气泄漏极易形成可燃蒸汽云,发生爆炸产生冲击波超压能够毁坏建筑物,在生产和生活中,对于有燃气使用的空间,应尽可能降低空间阻塞率,以避免可能的燃气泄漏形成危险域和爆炸形成过高冲击波超压。     

有障碍物开敞空间可燃气云爆炸超压场的数值模拟

利用计算流体动力学软件AutoReaGas定量研究障碍物、障碍物阻塞比对开敞空间可燃气云爆炸超压场的影响以及爆燃超压随测点距离变化的分布规律。研究结果表明:当有障碍物存在时,爆炸峰值超压会显著增加,且峰值超压随着障碍物阻塞比的增加而增加。对于有障碍物条件下开敞空间的丙烷气云爆炸,无论是气云内部还是气云外部,随着距爆心距离的增加,峰值超压都有减小的趋势。     

原油储罐区可燃气体探测器布置优化方案研究

为有效预警原油储备区储罐气体泄漏,制定气体探测器布置优化方案,以某大型原油站库为例,基于CFD法和FLACS软件模拟原油泄漏及可燃蒸汽云溢散分布,通过分析蒸汽云扩散规律,实现全方位气体探测器优化布置.结果表明:原油储罐区探测器分别布置在区块21-2、6-1、31-1、40-2,且每个罐组总计布置16处;优化设置方案可满...     

On the non-monotonic wind influence on flammable gas cloud from CFD simulations for hazardous area classification

Hazardous areas are defined as a result of a variety of variables as storage temperature, pressure, leak orifice size, physical properties of flammable substance, and wind characteristics. The potential formation of an explosive atmosphere must be accurately assessed to ensure process safety. Therefore, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) arises as an important tool for accurate predictions as recommended by the international standard IEC 60079-10-1 (2015). This study aims to analyze the influence of wind velocity magnitude and direction on the hazardous area classification. The authors evaluated the extent and volume for methane, propane, and hydrogen leakages from a CFD model. For each flammable gas, the wind velocity magnitude and direction were regularly varied. The outcomes show that the behavior of the plume size as the wind varies mainly depends on the gas concentration. Counter-flow wind directions lead to zero relative velocity closer to the release point, which concentrates the gas, and wind in the release direction promotes a higher dilution of the gas cloud increasing the hazardous extent while decreases the volume. As a consequence, the wind also influences the zone type, which was accurately predicted from CFD simulations and significant differences were found when compared to the standard analyses. These differences are, to some extent, related to the consideration of wind velocity effects on the gas jet release.     

大尺度障碍物与泄爆面对天然气内爆炸的协同作用规律研究

为阐释民用建筑内部大尺度物品与门窗等泄爆面对天然气爆炸灾害的协同作用机制,基于典型厨房空间布局及内部物品特征,借助计算流体动力学技术研究了不同泄爆面开启压力和不同大尺度障碍物体积阻塞率条件下天然气内爆炸火焰速度、爆炸超压的分布规律。研究结果表明:大尺度障碍物与泄爆面对室内天然气爆炸过程具有显著的协同作用,共同促进火焰速度与爆炸超压的显著增长,并缩短峰值超压到达时间;大尺度障碍物的存在虽然显著降低了室内天然气的体积,但从增加房间内湍流源和相对长径比的角度进一步促进了泄爆效应;大尺度障碍物与泄爆面协同作用下,室内火焰速度呈现明显的阶段性特征,并在泄爆面附近发生波动。研究结论可为民用建筑物内气体爆炸事故调查分析和灾害评估提供科学依据。     

开敞空间可燃气云爆炸冲击波超压及灾害动力响应研究评述

为了进一步梳理和分析开敞空间可燃云爆炸冲击波超压传播规律及灾害动力响应方面的各项研究成果,推进可燃气体爆炸安全防控,减少人员伤亡和经济损失。在分析现有研究的基础上,总结开敞空间可燃气云爆炸冲击波超压传播规律及灾害动力响应研究等方面存在的不足,提出开敞空间多元混合气体爆炸冲击波超压传播规律研究、多影响参数下可燃气云爆炸冲击波超压传播规律定量分析、基于可燃气云爆炸冲击波超压作用下的承载体动力响应等未来研究的关键技术问题。     

Numerical investigation and analysis of indoor gas explosion: A case study of “6·13” major gas explosion accident in Hubei Province,China

Taking the ' 6·13 ′ major gas explosion accident in Shiyan, Hubei Province, China as an example, three problems were studied in this work: (1)The determination of the volume of natural gas involved in the explosion; (2)The propagation process of shock wave inside the building and the damage evolution process of the accident-related building; (3)The overpressure and fragment injury to the person outside the building. Through the numerical simulation in ANSYS/LS-DYNA software, the volume of natural gas involved in the explosion is determined to be 10240 × 1400 × 400 cm (length × width × height) from three perspectives: the damage to the building, the distribution of overpressure inside the building, and the TNT equivalent of the explosion energy. The simulation results are in good line with the accident, which verifies the effectiveness of the scheme and the accuracy of the numerical model. Based on the reasonable filling scheme, the propagation process of shock waves inside the building, the damage evolution process of the building, and the injury ranges of overpressure and fragments outside the building are analyzed. It can be found that the propagation of shock waves in confined space is complex and variable. The explosion shock waves are first reflected and superimposed in the watercourse, resulting in pressure rise. At about 8ms, the shock waves rushed into the first-floor space of the building, and the maximum overpressure was about 0.56 MPa. At about 50 ms, the shock waves rushed into the second-floor space, and the maximum overpressure was about 0.139 MPa. The first and second-floor slabs and infilled walls were almost completely destroyed. The interior walls of the infilled walls are mainly collapsed, and the exterior walls are ejection around the building as the center. The peak displacement and peak velocity of the interior walls of each floor are about 15% of the exterior walls. The fragments which cause fragment injury mainly come from the retaining wall above the watercourse, the maximum velocity is about 89 m/s, and the maximum displacement is 8.9 m. The safety distance of fragment injury is about 8.8 m, while the safety distance of overpressure injury is about 4.6 m. The lethal distance of fragment injury is greater than that of overpressure injury. Compared with the distance between different damage levels of overpressure injury, the difference in fragment injury is small. Therefore, the safety assessment at the engineering level only needs to consider the safety distance of fragment injury. This study can provide suggestions for evaluating the damage of natural gas cloud explosions in confined spaces and is helpful for accident investigation and safety protection.     

障碍物排列方式对海洋平台蒸气云爆炸的影响

为了了解障碍物排列方式对海洋平台蒸气云爆炸的影响,基于CFD方法建立蒸气云爆炸计算模型,选用国外MERGE项目的系列爆炸实验进行模型验证,提出用于衡量障碍物排列不均匀度的量化参数,针对海洋平台典型结构形式,分析障碍物排列方式对爆炸强度的影响。研究结果表明:蒸气云爆炸后果对于结构排列方式比较敏感,结构障碍物间隔均匀排列的形式造成的爆炸冲击作用最大;在爆炸发展初期阶段,障碍物阻塞程度对超压产生和发展影响更加显著。最后,基于研究结果,给出在海洋平台油气泄漏危险区将管线沿甲板非均匀排列布置等防控建议,为海洋平台蒸气云爆炸安全防控提供理论指导。     

石化行业控制室承爆风险评估方法研究

针对传统的气体爆炸风险评估方法的不足之处,提出采用一种基于CFD技术的气体爆炸风险评估方法,对某煤气化厂区氢气爆炸对控制室造成的风险进行模拟计算与预测分析。并把研究结果与传统的TNT当量法、Multi-Energy方法预测结果进行比较。结果表明,该方法能考虑到密集管道与复杂装置布局、气云大小等因素对爆炸超压的影响,且能用于超压波的近场预测,以及确定空间不同位置处的爆炸超压,更适用于石化行业控制室的承爆风险评估。     

瓦斯爆炸后空间温度分布及热危害区域分析研究

为了获得瓦斯爆炸引发次生灾害的特性参数,建立了超压预测模型及爆炸后空气温度衰减模型,并结合实验数据进行了验证。结果表明:依据所建立的超压修正模型,不同浓度和体积下的超压在爆源附近呈对数形式快速下降,之后缓慢趋向平稳;基于模型修正的爆炸超压计算公式,能够很好的对各个情形的瓦斯爆炸超压进行计算,吻合较好。对初始瓦斯体积相对较小的情形吻合度很高,对于初始体积大的瓦斯爆炸超压在100 m附近会出现一定误差,但有一定指导意义。瓦斯爆炸热危害区域的研究,对瓦斯爆炸次生灾害的防治工作具有重要意义。     

巷道中瓦斯爆炸诱导激波传播特性研究

利用AutoReaGas软件,数值模拟巷道中瓦斯浓度和火源对瓦斯爆炸传播的影响,其计算结果表明:爆炸静态超压随着传播距离的增加而减小,而爆炸动压随着传播距离的增加而增大;点火位置距离巷道封闭端越近,各测点得到的爆炸静态超压值越大;瓦斯浓度对爆炸峰值超压影响显著,当浓度为9.5%的氧化反应当量比浓度时,得到的最大峰值超压为70.95kPa,爆炸威力最大。     

输气管道高后果区蒸气云爆炸超压预测方法探究

为准确预测输气管道高后果区在发生蒸气云爆炸事故时的超压分布情况,对国内外运用较为广泛的蒸气云爆炸超压预测经验模型和数值模拟方法进行调研,并分别应用其对某输气管道全尺寸泄漏燃爆实验进行超压预测,结合实验数据和输气管道高后果区管理现状进行方法准确性和工程适用性分析。研究结果表明：基于等效TNT假设的Henrych模型、Mills模型和等效TNT当量数值模拟方法均不适合准确预测蒸气云爆炸超压,TNO多能法和混合气体数值模拟方法所预测的结果较为接近实验结果。TNO多能法使用简便且推广性强,但主观性较大,易高估或低估爆炸后果;混合气体数值模拟方法操作繁琐且推广性差,但分析结果精度较高。在对高后果区进行安全管控时,可结合TNO多能法与混合气体数值模拟方法同时对管道工况进行评估,确定TNO多能法的爆源强度等级,继而推广使用TNO多能法。该研究结果可在较大程度上保证评估的准确性并节约成本。     

Study on the characteristics of gas explosion affected by induction charged water mist in confined space

To investigate the suppression effect of charged water mist on gas explosion, a small charged water mist generator and a gas explosion simulation device were designed based on the principle of electrostatic induction. Experiments for testing characteristics of the gas explosion in a confined space under different charged polarities, charged voltages and mist fluxes were carried out. Experimental results indicated that, compared with the normal water mist, the explosion peak overpressure and the flame propagation speed could be more effectively reduced by the charged water mist. And this suppression effect could be promoted by increasing the charged voltage. To visualize the effect of the charged water mist's polarity on gas explosion, comparative experiments were conducted. The results showed that the explosion peak overpressure, the overpressure rising rate, and the propagation speed of the flame were reduced by 64.7%, 33.0% and 19.4%, respectively, when a +8 kV charged voltage was applied. In situation where a -8 kV charged voltage was applied, 64.1%, 26.5% and 16.0% reductions were achieved for the explosion peak overpressure, the overpressure rising rate, and the flame propagation speed respectively. Comparison of this data leads to the conclusion that the gas explosion could be more efficiently suppressed by the positively charged water mist.