A study of the precursors leading to ‘organisational’ accidents in complex industrial settings

This study aggregates the narrative findings from the investigation of 12 accidents or ‘near hits’ across a wide range of industrial settings to build a catalogue of organisational and cultural precursors to accidents. It was found that many were important factors in multiple events. It is argued that by addressing these potential vulnerabilities using the findings and proposed tools based upon them, organisations undertaking safety related activities will not only develop greater awareness of these deeper-lying issues but should be able to better control the risks associated with them.The precursors have been classified under eight headings and examples of key findings from three of these are presented. Statements providing potential defences against the identified vulnerabilities have been developed which should enable organisations to scrutinise the adequacy of existing expectations or requirements within their business. Probing questions have been developed based on the statements which should allow an assessment to be made as to whether these have been ‘embedded’ in the organisation.It is argued that organisational vulnerability tools should be developed to enable a systematic approach to ‘diagnosing’ incubating precursors. It is also argued that there is the potential for further resilience to be achieved through the use of models of the complex dynamics of socio-technical processes within organisations.     

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。     

Ecological modelling of nitrate pollution in small river basins by spreadsheets and GIS

With the increasing importance and awareness of water quality in the small basins, the modelling system is developed for monitoring and predictions of surface water pollution. The compartment model deals with basin characteristics extended by land cover attributes. The parameters of the model are estimated by experimental data of water quality together with land cover types that serve as nutrient detention media or transformers. The study examines methodology to determine the potential areas of nitrate pollution from point and non-point sources by remote sensing techniques. Classification of water, agricultural, forest and urban areas is processed with satellite images (LANDSAT 7). Whereas the agricultural and urban areas act as sources of pollution, forest zones operate as sinks. The nitrate levels are decreased downstream, if the proportion of the forest inside contribution zones increases. The modelling system is used to simulate amounts of nitrates in each compartment of the stream during the monitored period of one year. The number of compartments and their lengths are estimated on the basis of morphology of the basin. Simulation of the dynamic model is carried out with the TabSim. Geographic information system (GIS) and remote sensing tools are used to manage and estimate nitrate inflows from point and non-point sources of pollution. The article presents the spatial and time variation of the nitrate (NO₃⁻) within the basin of the stream Rakovnický (the west part of Bohemia, the whole area of 368 km²). It is shown that the model approach extended by the GIS and remote sensing can support decision-making process for better management practices in the basins.     

Efficient and sustainable management of complex forest ecosystems

A large range of models has been developed for the analysis of optimal forest management strategies, with the well-known Faustmann models dating back to the mid-19th century. To date, however, there has been relatively little attention for the implications of complex ecosystem dynamics for optimal forest management. This paper examines the implications of irreversible ecosystem responses for efficient and sustainable forest management. The paper is built around two forest models that comprise two ecosystem components, forest cover and topsoil, the interactions between these components, and the supply of the ecosystem services ‘wood’ and ‘erosion control’. The first model represents a forest that responds in a reversible way to overharvesting. In the second model, an additional ecological process has been included and the ecosystem irreversibly collapses below certain thresholds in forest cover and topsoil depth. The paper presents a general model, and demonstrates the implications of pursuing efficient as well as sustainable forest management for the two forest ecosystems. Both fixed and variable harvesting cycles are examined. Efficient and sustainable harvesting cycles are compared, and it is shown that irreversible ecosystem behaviour reduces the possibilities to reconcile efficient and sustainable forest management through a variable harvesting cycle.     

The People and Landscape Model (PALM): Towards full integration of human decision-making and biophysical simulation models

A model for simulating resource flows in a rural subsistence community is described. The People and Landscape Model (PALM) consists of a number of agents representing households, the landscape, and livestock. The landscape is made up of a number of homogeneous land units, or ‘fields’, each represented by an object containing data, methods and properties relevant to the field. Each field object consists of a number of soil layer objects, each of which contains routines to calculate its water balance and carbon and nitrogen dynamics. Organic matter decomposition is simulated by a version of the CENTURY model, while water and nitrogen dynamics are simulated by versions of the routines in the DSSAT crop models. The soil processes are simulated continuously, and vegetation types (crops, weeds, trees) can come and go in a field depending on its management. Crop growth and development are simulated by a generic model based on the DSSAT crop models, and which can be parameterised for different crops. Similarly, livestock growth and resource use is simulated by a generic model which can be parameterised for buffalo, cows, goats, sheep, chickens and pigs.     

Application of a coupled ecosystem-chemical equilibrium model, DayCent-Chem, to stream and soil chemistry in a Rocky Mountain watershed

Atmospheric deposition of sulfur and nitrogen species have the potential to acidify terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, but nitrate and ammonium are also critical nutrients for plant and microbial productivity. Both the ecological response and the hydrochemical response to atmospheric deposition are of interest to regulatory and land management agencies. We developed a non-spatial biogeochemical model to simulate soil and surface water chemistry by linking the daily version of the CENTURY ecosystem model (DayCent) with a low temperature aqueous geochemical model, PHREEQC. The coupled model, DayCent-Chem, simulates the daily dynamics of plant production, soil organic matter, cation exchange, mineral weathering, elution, stream discharge, and solute concentrations in soil water and stream flow. By aerially weighting the contributions of separate bedrock/talus and tundra simulations, the model was able to replicate the measured seasonal and annual stream chemistry for most solutes for Andrews Creek in Loch Vale watershed, Rocky Mountain National Park. Simulated soil chemistry, net primary production, live biomass, and soil organic matter for forest and tundra matched well with measurements. This model is appropriate for accurately describing ecosystem and surface water chemical response to atmospheric deposition and climate change.     

伊春河河水水溶性腐殖酸内源释放模型

以水溶性腐殖酸含量很高的伊春河为例，利用冬季冰封无外源输入的条件，在有产室内模拟研究的基础上，通过现场采样及测定，建立了伊春河河水水溶性腐殖酸的内源释放模型，根据同期采集样品进行的验证表明，该模型能够准确地反映河流沉积物中水溶性瘁殖酸向河水中释放的速率以及速率与流速等条件的定量关系。     

城市立体交通系统中污染物传播特性数值模拟

构建了一个包含交通转盘、隧道、高架桥和下沉式公交站的立体交通几何模型,建立了该系统中流体流动与污染物传播的耦合数学模型,数值分析了环境风变化时,该系统中流体流动与气态污染物的传播规律.结果表明,环境风向的变化直接改变了公交站区域流体的流向途径,在公交站区域;北风时的平均污染物浓度是西风时的3.5倍,而在转盘中央区域,北风时平均污染物浓度是西风时的5倍.西风时,环境风速从0.5m/s增加到3.5m/s,东侧公交站区域的平均污染物浓度减少95.21%;交通隧道内,环境风速的增加使空气流通速度增加,污染物浓度迅速降低.     

井喷点火后对周边井和集气站的影响研究

以实际工程项目为例,利用计算流体动力学软件（CFD）,以3种不同压力、外界风速和2种出口直径为边界条件,分别对井喷情况下的流场分布进行了18组数值模拟计算,并对模拟结果及其对周边设施的影响进行了分析。数值模拟结果表明,在压力为10MPa,出口直径为62mm,风速为1m／s时,井喷后气流的出口速度超过400m／s,而火焰表面温度超过1500K,喷射火对周边建筑物的伤害范围超过65m,对周边的设备与建筑造成毁坏;超过104m才不会有明显伤害。     

Review of hydrogen safety during storage,transmission, and applications processes

Hydrogen is considered an excellent clean fuel with potential applications in several fields. There are serious safety concerns associated with the hydrogen process. These concerns need to be thoroughly understood and addressed to ensure its safe operation. To better understand the safety challenges of hydrogen use, application, and process, it is essential to undertake a detailed risk analysis. This can be achieved by performing detailed consequence modellings and assessing risk using the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) approach. This study comprehensively reviews and analyses safety challenges related to hydrogen, focusing on hydrogen storage, transmission, and application processes. Range of release and dispersion scenarios are investigated to analyse associated hazards. Approaches to quantitative risk assessment are also briefly discussed.