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.     

Underground parallel pipelines domino effect: An analysis based on pipeline crater models and historical accidents

This paper focuses on the analysis of the possibility of domino effect in underground parallel pipelines relying on historical accident data and pipeline crater models. An underground pipeline can be considered as safe following an accident with an adjacent gas or liquefied pipeline when it remains outside the ground crater generated. In order to prevent the domino effect in these cases, the design of parallel pipelines has to consider adequate pipeline separations based on the crater width, which is one of the widely used methods in engineering applications. The objective of this work is the analysis of underground petroleum product pipelines ruptures with the formation of a ground crater as well as the evaluation of possible domino effects in these cases. A detailed literature survey has been carried out to review existing crater models along with a historical analysis of past accidents. A FORTRAN code has been implemented to assess the performance of the Gasunie, the Batelle and the Advantica crater models. In addition to this, a novel Accident-Based crater model has been presented, which allows the prediction of the crater width as a function of the relevant design pipeline parameters as well as the soil density. Modifications have also been made to the Batelle and Accident-Based models in order to overcome the underestimation of the crater width. The calculated crater widths have been compared with real accident data and the performance evaluation showed that the proposed Accident-Based model has a better performance compared to other models studied in this work. The analysis of forty-eight past accidents indicated a major potential of underground parallel pipelines domino effect which is proven by two real cases taken from the literature. Relying on the investigated accidents, the crater width was smaller than or equal to 20 m in most cases indicating that the definition of underground pipeline separations at around 10 m would be sufficient to ensure a small probability of the domino effect.     

Revised fire consequence models for offshore quantitative risk assessment

Offshore oil and gas platforms are well known for their compact geometry, high degree of congestion, limited ventilation and difficult escape routes. A small mishap under such conditions can quickly escalate into a catastrophe. Among all the accidental process-related events occurring offshore, fire is the most frequently reported. It is, therefore, necessary to study the behavior of fires and quantity the hazards posed by them in order to complete a detailed quantitative risk assessment. While there are many consequence models available to predict fire hazards-varying from point source models to highly complex computational fluid dynamic models—only a few have been validated for the unique conditions found offshore.

In this paper, we have considered fire consequence modeling as a suite of sub-models such as individual fire models, radiation model, overpressure model, smoke and toxicity models and human impact models. This comprehensive suite of models was then revised by making the following modifications: (i) fire models: existing fire models have been reviewed and the ones most suitable for offshore conditions were selected; (ii) overpressure impact model: a model has been developed to quantify the overpressure effects from fires to investigate the possible damage from the hot combustion gases released in highly confined compartments; (iii) radiation model: instead of a point/area model, a multipoint grid-based model has been adopted for better modeling and analysis of radiation heat flux consequences. A comparison of the performance of the revised models with the ones used in a commercial software package for offshore risk assessment was also carried out and is discussed in the paper.     

Threshold values for domino effects caused by blast wave interaction with process equipment

The present study focuses on the definition and assessment of overpressure threshold values for the damage to equipment caused by blast waves originated by primary accidental scenarios. A revision of literature data and of the available damage probability models was carried out. Threshold values were proposed for different categories of process equipment, taking into account either damage levels or release intensities following the loss of containment. Specific threshold values for domino effect were also proposed.     

油库火灾爆炸事故多米诺效应定量评价

引入多米诺效应定义,介绍多米诺效应定量评价的方法.结合具体实例对油库进行火灾爆炸事故的风险分析,给出事故多米诺效应定量评价的具体程序.通过油库火灾爆炸事故多米诺效应评价,得出油库事故的升级因素和导致事故扩大的途径,并指出相应的多米诺效应控制措施.与传统的评价方法相比,多米诺效应评价方法可预测次生事故发生情况和发生概率及后果,从而可以有针对性地采取相应的预防措施,预防事故多米诺效应,降低次生灾害的发生率,提高油库的本质安全程度.     

Risk assessment in a hypothetical network pipeline in UK transporting carbon dioxide

With the advent of Carbon Capture and Storage technology (CCS) the scale and extent of its handling is set to increase. Carbon dioxide (CO₂) capture plants are expected to be situated near to power plants and other large industrial sources. Afterward CO₂ is to be transported to storage site using one or a combination of transport media: truck, train, ship or pipeline. Transport by pipeline is considered the preferred option for large quantities of CO₂ over long distances. The hazard connected with this kind of transportation can be considered an emerging risk and is the subject of this paper.The paper describes the Quantitative Risk Assessment of a hypothetical network pipeline located in UK, in particular the study of consequences due to a CO₂ release from pipeline.The risk analysis highlighted that some sections of pipeline network cross densely populated areas. For this reason, some changes in the original path of the network have been proposed in order to achieve a significant reduction in the societal risk.     

Estimation of the impact probability in domino effects due to the projection of fragments

Despite the remarkable severity of domino effects in activities at major hazard, a complete methodology analysing such events has not been developed and integrated within Quantitative Risk Analysis (QRA). Such a deficiency appears to be particularly remarkable for domino effects triggered by the projection of fragments. The aim of the present work is therefore to propose a systematic procedure for the quantification of domino effects due to fragments projection within QRA. To achieve this objective, the deterministic approach for the estimation of the realistic trajectory of fragments is entirely reviewed. In order to incorporate such a reviewed approach within the standard QRA, a probabilistic model for the impact probability of the fragments is developed by applying a Monte-Carlo method to the trajectory equations. The validation of the proposed framework is carried out by using the data related to an accident occurred in 1993 in the oil refinery of Milazzo (Italy).     

Quantification of impact of line markers on risk on transmission pipelines with natural gas

The paper presents a model for the assessment of the influence of line markers on risk on transmission pipelines with natural gas. The impact of line markers on risk is determined as a function of the line marker recognisability, which in turn depends on the ability to discern a line marker from a distance. The model is based on physical properties of line markers, especially on their colour, measures and the colour of the environment. These properties served to quantitatively assess the discernability of two most frequently encountered types of line markers. Calculated distances at which a particular line marker is discernible were compared to the average distances between two line markers. Risk reduction factors were derived from the comparison between the calculated results and the data from the appropriate hazardous event database. Results of the model indicated significant dependence of the risk reduction factor due to line markers on the distance between two line markers and the weather conditions. The model shows its flexibility through its distinct dependence on local conditions along the pipeline route. It can serve as a supplement to the existing models for quantitative risk assessment on pipelines used in natural gas transportation.     

风险动物园(Ⅳ):基于复杂系统思维的风险隐喻事件识别与评估

为有效识别与评估风险动物园中不同类型的隐喻事件,比较不同风险隐喻事件存在的差异性,基于复杂系统思维与脆性理论,分别从确定性、普遍性、周期性、稳定性、容忍性和可逆性6个维度识别分析风险隐喻事件,并基于公共安全三角形理论构建风险隐喻事件评估模型。结果表明:通过复杂系统思维对风险隐喻事件一般性的特征规律进行总结归纳与科学分类,并建立风险隐喻事件多维度定量评估模型,为风险隐喻事件管控提供应用思路和方法逻辑,同时,保证风险隐喻事件建立的科学性和合理性。针对风险隐喻事件的不同认知特点,提出风险管控4P(禁止、暂停、推迟、预防)策略,为组织开展风险事件管控提供参考。     

多米诺效应定量风险分析

根据多米诺效应的特点,提出了针对多米诺场景和效应后果的定量风险分析方法.首先辨识多米诺效应的事故场景,针对场景的复杂性和事故后果的严重性,运用数学模型和概率分析手段对主要事故场景进行分析; 其次根据初始事故的影响,运用设备损坏概率模型计算二次目标设备的损坏概率和场景的后果; 最后,运用人体脆弱性模型对效应后果进行分析,量化多米诺效应的风险,结合风险分析方法和理论得到直观的个人风险和F-N社会风险曲线.多米诺分析流程及计算的结果表明,多米诺效应对个人风险和社会风险都造成了显著的变化,加强多米诺效应分析有利于工厂规划布局和安全管理.