Numerical and reduced-scale experimental investigation of blast wave shape in underground transportation infrastructure

When an explosion occurs in a tunnel, the study of the blast wave quickly becomes complicated, owing to the multiple propagation patterns of the blast wave (incident wave, regular and Mach reflections) and to the geometrical conditions. Considering this problem, two patterns can be revealed. Near the explosive, the well-known free-field pressure wave can be observed. After multiple reflections on the tunnel's walls, this overpressure behaves like a one-dimensional (1D) wave. One aim of this paper is to determine the position of this transition spherical-to-planar wave propagation in a tunnel using both numerical and reduced-scale experiments, and thereby validate the dedicated law established in a previous work.For this purpose, a detonation of TNT in a tunnel with a cross-section of up to 55 m² is considered. Results show good agreement between the numerical simulations and experiments. The transition zone between the three-dimensional (3D) and the 1D wave is well detected. An application to a simplified subway station is also investigated which shows that significant planar waves can be transmitted to the neighboring stations via the junction tunnels.     

A study of the blast wave shape from elongated VCEs

Elongated congestion patterns are common at chemical processing and petroleum refining facilities due to the arrangement of processing units. The accidental vapor cloud explosion (VCE) which occurred at the Buncefield, UK facility involved an elongated congested volume formed by the trees and undergrowth along the site boundary. Although elongated congested volumes are common, there have been few evaluations reported for the blast loads produced by elongated VCEs. Standard VCE blast load prediction techniques do not directly consider the impact of this congested volume geometry versus a more compact geometry.This paper discusses an evaluation performed to characterize the blast loads from elongated VCEs and to identify some significant differences in the resulting blast wave shape versus those predicted by well-known VCE blast load methodologies (e.g., BST and TNO MEM). The standard blast curves are based on an assumption that the portion of the flammable gas cloud participating in the VCE is hemispherical and located at grade level. The results of this evaluation showed that the blast wave shape for an elongated VCE in the near-field along the long-axis direction is similar to that for an acoustic wave generated in hemispherical VCEs with a low flame speed. Like an acoustic wave, an elongated VCE blast wave has a very quick transition from the positive phase peak pressure to the negative phase peak pressure, relative to the positive phase duration. The magnitude of the applied negative pressure on a building face depends strongly on the transition time between the positive and negative phase peak pressures, and this applied negative phase can be important to structural response under certain conditions. The main purpose of this evaluation was to extend previous work in order to investigate how an elongated VCE geometry impacts the resultant blast wave shape in the near-field. The influence of the normalized flame travel distance and the flame speed on the blast wave shape was examined. Deflagration and deflagration-to-detonation transition regimes were also identified for unconfined elongated VCEs as a function of the normalized flame travel distance and flame speed attained at a specified flame travel distance.     

Numerical study of medium to large scale BLEVE for blast wave prediction

So far, the prediction of blast wave generated from the Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapour Explosion (BLEVE) has been already broadly investigated. However, only a few validations of these blast wave prediction models have been made, and some well-established methods are available to predict BLEVE overpressure in the open space only. This paper presents numerical study on the estimation of the near-field and far-field blast waves from BLEVEs. The scale effect is taken into account by conducting two different scale BLEVE simulations. The expansion of pressurized vapour and evaporation of liquid in BLEVE are both modelled by using CFD method. Two approaches are proposed to determine the initial pressure of BLEVE source. The vapour evaporation and liquid flashing are simulated separately in these two approaches. Satisfactory agreement between the CFD simulation results and experimental data is achieved. With the validated CFD model, the results predicted by the proposed approaches can be used to predict explosion loads for better assessment of explosion effects on structures.     

Attenuation of a point blast shock wave in the dusty air

The behavior of the blast impulse initiated by a point blast in the dusty air is investigated theoretically. It is shown that the jumps of parameters at the shock front in the dusty air follow other regularities in comparison with the case of an ideal gas, beginning from the distance of three dynamic radii, so at ten dynamic radii the difference in overpressure exceeds 60%. When the air heterogeneity is taken into account, substantial gradual changes of wave profile come over and the total blast wave impulse can't be determined by the front overpressure only. The known far asymptotic law takes no place in the point blast flow at the volume dust densities ρ₂₀ > 3·10^?3 kg/m³. In contrast to the ideal gas, the shock front discontinuity vanishes in the dusty air at a finite distance from its origin and the blast wave eventually turns into a dispersive wave without discontinuity. The wave structure changing is studied in the process of the shock wave transformation into the dispersive wave.     

Dynamic responses and damage of storage tanks under the coupling effect of blast wave and fragment impact

Blast wave and fragment are two main types of physical damage effects representing a significant threat to storage tank structures in chemical industrial parks. Compared with the effect of only blast wave or fragment, the coupling effect of them may cause more severe consequences and is worthy of study. A numerical study of the dynamic responses and damage of a vertical storage tank subjected to the coupling effect of blast wave and fragment is conducted based on a typical accident. The simulation results reveal that stress-concentration and rapid increase of the stress exist in the impacted region of the storage tank under the coupling effect, which leads to the structural damage of the tank exhibiting different failure modes. The coupling effect is significantly apparent following a dramatic increase of the plastic strain, and the damage of the storage tank is further aggravated. From the displacement response and energy absorption, the overall damage of the storage tank subjected to the coupling effect is more severe than that caused by blast wave and fragment separately, which also indicates that the coupling effect is an enhanced damage effect. Besides, the contribution of blast wave and fragment to the coupling effect depends on scaled distance. The results of the study help reveal the coupling effect of blast wave and fragment and prevent domino accidents caused by the coupling effect.     

Numerical simulations on the attenuation effect of a barrier material on a blast wave

This paper numerically modeled previous experimental results and quantitatively revealed the attenuation effect of a barrier material on a blast wave. Four fluids were considered in the present study: the detonation products, water, foamed polystyrene, and air. These fluids were modeled by Jones-Wilkins-Lee (JWL), stiffened gas, and ideal gas equations of state. A mixture of water and foamed polystyrene was used as a barrier to encircle a 0.1 kg mass of spherical pentolite, and the interface problem between the barrier and the blast wave was investigated. The simulation parameters were the radius and the water volume fraction of the barrier. To elucidate the effect of the barrier, we conducted two series of numerical simulations; one without a barrier, and another with a barrier of 50 or 100 mm in outer radius and 0–1 in the water volume fraction. Peak overpressure, positive impulse, and pressure history all agreed well with the previous experimental results. We focused on the energy transfer from high-pressure detonation products to other fluids. The sum of the kinetic energies of the detonation products and the barrier induced by the blast wave could quantitatively estimate the attenuation effect of the blast wave and was minimized when the water volume fraction was 0.5, as was the case in the previous experiment.     

A quantitative correlation of evaluating the flame speed for the BST method in vapor cloud explosions

In recent decades, vapor cloud explosions (VCEs) have occurred frequently and resulted in numerous personnel injuries and large property losses. As a main concern in the petrochemical industry, it is of great importance to assess the consequence of VCEs. Currently, the TNT equivalency method (TNT EM), the TNO multi-energy method (TNO MEM), and the Baker-Strehlow-Tang (BST) method are widely used to estimate the blast load from VCEs. The TNO MEM and BST method determine the blast load from blast curves based on the class number and the flame speed, respectively. To quantitatively evaluate the flame speed for the BST method, the experimental data is adopted to validate the confinement specific correlation (CSC) for the determination of the class number in the TNO MEM. As a bridge, a quantitative evaluation correlation (QEC) between CSC correlation and the flame speed is established and the blast wave shapes corresponding to different flame speeds are proposed. CFD software FLACS was used to verify the quantitative correlation with the numerical models of three geometrical scales. It is found that the calculated flame speeds by the QEC are in good agreement with the simulated ones. A petrochemical plant is selected as a realistic scenario to analyze the TNT EM, TNO MEM, BST method and FLACS simulations in terms of the positive-phase side-on overpressure and impulse at different distances. Compared with the flame speed table, the predicted overpressure from BST curves determined by the proposed QEC is closer to that from FLACS and more conservative. Furthermore, the predicted results of different methods are compared with each other. It is found that the estimated positive-phase side-on overpressure and impulse by the TNO MEM are the largest, and the estimated impulse by the TNT EM is the smallest. Moreover, the estimated overpressure and impulse are larger in the higher reactivity gas.     

Experimental and numerical study of CO2 plume diffusion in a confined space

In this paper, heavy gas diffusion in a confined space has been investigated. The effects of barrier and source intensity on CO₂ diffusion are explored by the small-scale experiments and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) methods. Six different turbulence models are selected to predict the gas concentrations. By comparing these experimental values with the simulated ones, it is found that all models can effectively predict the concentration variation with time, and SST k-ω model is most close to the ideal model compared with others. Three source-barrier distances and three CO₂ flow rates have been set up for the study. In this confined space, the main flow is concentrated in the region near the ground. The existence of barriers in the space will have a dilution effect on the high-concentration plume near the ground of the near-source area and a barrier effect on the low-concentration plume in the far-source area. The changes in source intensity have notable impact on the gas concentrations. This study can provide an experimental basis for the risk assessment in the confined spaces, as well as an experimental and data reference for large-scale CFD simulations.     

开放与受限条件下电缆燃烧特性模拟对比研究

为对比研究开放与受限条件下的电缆火灾燃烧行为,采用CFD数值模拟软件建立了全尺寸电缆燃烧模型,同时考虑了不同间距对电缆燃烧特性的影响,并将开放与受限条件下的计算结果进行对比,分析了两种条件下电缆火灾中各工况的温度、O₂浓度。结果表明：开放条件下的电缆燃烧主要属于燃料控制型,而受限条件下的电缆燃烧主要属于先燃料控制型,后通风控制型。在开放条件下,氧气充足,燃烧更为充分,形成的火焰高度及温度更高,更容易引燃上方可燃物体;而在受限条件下,电缆火焰受到顶板限制形成的顶棚射流,会加强火焰对电缆的热辐射作用,有助于电缆燃烧。但由于侧壁的存在,电缆燃烧过程中的空气卷吸受到了一定的限制,由于通风不足,受限空间内的O₂浓度逐渐下降,电缆燃烧受到抑制,甚至熄灭,而随着空气的补充,电缆将可能出现复燃现象。此外,两种条件下电缆间距对燃烧的影响均较为明显,当间距较小时,燃烧电缆之间的影响显著,燃烧更为剧烈,而随着电缆间距增大,燃烧电缆间的相互热辐射减弱,更接近于单根电缆的独立燃烧,其中开放条件下相对更为明显。     

高压管汇磁致伸缩导波缺陷检测模拟研究

针对高压管汇导波缺陷检测问题,基于磁致伸缩效应,借助COMSOL有限元仿真软件,建立高压管汇直管段的导波缺陷检测模型,探究导波的激励条件及缺陷检测效果,分析不同参数对缺陷附近磁感应强度分布的影响。研究结果表明:在频率为10 kHz的正弦电流信号激励下,可产生沿管道轴向传播的T（0,1）模态导波,并能辨别缺陷处的回波信号。改变缺陷的尺寸参数时,缺陷附近的磁感应强度随着缺陷深度增加呈增大趋势,随轴向宽度增加呈减小趋势,不同形状的缺陷对应的磁感应强度存在一定的差异;改变激励条件,磁感应强度均随激励电流、激励频率的增加呈不断增加趋势。     

空气中爆炸对巷道稳定性影响模拟研究

以西北某铀矿矿床某巷道为依托,针对巷道稳定性及巷道内爆炸问题,运用ANSYS软件对自重应力场下的巷道衬砌及围岩进行静力分析,得出巷道围岩有效应力分布情况及巷道断面上几个典型位置的位移量和等效应力值。在此基础上,再利用LS-DYNA显式分析功能模拟自重应力场下爆炸对计算,获得衬砌结构最大主应力和加速度时程曲线,分析爆炸波在巷道中传播规律,为巷道抗爆性设计提供参考。结果表明,巷道中的爆炸波会产生强烈的多次反射现象,并且在自重应力场下,直墙拐角处往往最先出现破坏。     

Numerical and experimental study on the generation and propagation of negative wave in high-pressure gas pipeline leakage

Negative-wave-based leakage detection and localization technology has been widely used in the pipeline system to diminish leak loss and enhance environmental protection from hazardous leak events. However, the fluid mechanics behind the negative wave method has yet been disclosed. The objective of this paper is to investigate the generation and propagation of negative wave in high-pressure pipeline leakage. A three-dimensional computational fluid dynamic (CFD) study on the negative wave was carried out with large eddy simulation (LES) method. Experimentally validated simulation presented the transient wave generation at the leak onset and the comprehensive wave evolution afterwards. Negative wave was proven to be a kind of rarefaction acoustic waves induced by transient mass loss at the onset of leakage. Diffusion due to the density difference at wave fronts drives the negative wave propagation. Propagation of negative wave can be categorized into three states – semi-spherical wave, wave superposition and plane wave, based on different wave forms. The wave characteristics at different states were elucidated and the attenuation effects were discussed respectively. Finally, a non-dimensional correlation was proposed to predict the negative wave amplitude based on pipeline pressure and leak diameter.     

A numerical study on the feasibility and efficiency of point smoke extraction strategies in large cross-section shield tunnel fires using CFD modeling

The strategy of smoke control is of high importance for the design process of tunnels, especially for long and large cross-section tunnels. The South Hongmei Rd. Tunnel (SHT) located in Shanghai, China, is a 3.39 km long shield TBM (tunnel boring machine) tunnel with an external diameter of 14.5 m. The point smoke extraction system was proposed initially as the main ventilation strategy during a tunnel fire. To investigate the fire characteristics in the tunnel and develop appropriate smoke control strategies, a series of numerical 3D Computation Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations were conducted. Three fire scenarios, namely 5 MW, 20 MW and 50 MW, were modeled to evaluate the point extraction system. The gas temperatures, the stratification of the smoke, air temperature, minimum visibility etc., during the smoke spreading of a fire were analyzed. Based on the results of the simulation, the smoke extraction strategies according to fire scale and fire location were proposed for fire extinguishing. It was found that the three-point extraction opening strategy can control the smoke better than two-point extraction opening strategy under various fire scales, especially under serious fire scenario. From the results, damper openings ranged at closer intervals were found more efficient in two-point extraction system. Besides, placing the damper openings in the longitudinal direction can improve the efficiency of smoke extraction. It also results in reduction of the quantity of prefabricated members of duct slab and the process of assembly will be simplified during the construction.     

Investigating the uniqueness of crash injury severity in freeway tunnels: A comparative study in Guizhou,China

Introduction: With the rapid development of transportation infrastructures in precipitous areas, the mileage of freeway tunnels in China has been mounting during the past decade. Provided the semi-constrained space and the monotonous driving environment of freeway tunnels, safety concerns still remain. This study aims to investigate the uniqueness of the relationships between crash severity in freeway tunnels and various contributory factors. Method: The information of 10,081 crashes in the entire freeway network of Guizhou Province, China in 2018 is adopted, from which a subset of 591 crashes in tunnels is extracted. To address spatial variations across various road segments, a two-level binary logistic approach is applied to model crash severity in freeway tunnels. A similar model is also established for crash severity on general freeways as a benchmark. Results: The uniqueness of crash severity in tunnels mainly includes three aspects: (a) the road-segment-level effects are quantifiable with the environmental factors for crash severity in tunnels, but only exist in the random effects for general freeways; (b) tunnel has a significantly higher propensity to cause severe injury in a crash than other locations of a freeway; and (c) different influential factors and levels of contributions are found to crash severity in tunnels compared with on general freeways. Factors including speed limit, tunnel length, truck involvement, rear-end crash, rainy and foggy weather and sequential crash have positive contributions to crash severity in freeway tunnels. Practical applications: Policy implications for traffic control and management are advised to improve traffic safety level in freeway tunnels.     

Prevention and mitigation of injuries and damages arising from the activity of subliminal enterprises: A case study in Slovakia

The paper focuses on risk sources under no legislative pressure in the field of prevention of major accidents. Despite this, they can represent significant sources of risk of accidents.The aim of the paper is to present the results of the risk assessment associated with the operation of enterprises not regulated by the SEVESO III Directive (the so-called subliminal enterprises), to provide information on possible operational problems and to verify the applicability of recognized risk analysis methods for these specific sources of risk. Last but not least, its purpose is to point out that subliminal enterprises, due to their location close to residential areas or areas with a high concentration of population, pose a serious risk to the population.The paper summarizes the results of the quantitative risk assessment of a specific enterprise not included in the Seveso Directive – a filling station. Filling stations are frequently located in built-up areas with a dense coefficient of habitability. Due to their number, location (e.g. close to residential areas), frequency of occurrence of persons in the area and handling of dangerous substances during normal operation, they can have negative or even tragic consequences to the life and health of the population.Due to the non-existent risk assessment methodology for enterprises with subliminal quantities of dangerous substances and the lack of a systematic search for risk sources, a risk assessment procedure for these companies is designed.