A closer look at BLEVE overpressure

The overpressure produced by the boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion (BLEVE) is still not well understood. Various methods have been published on the overpressure modeling in the far field. They mostly differ by the modeling of the expansion energy, used to scale the distance to the source where the overpressure needs to be calculated. But these methods usually include a experimentally fitted reduction factor, and are mostly overestimating the overpressures. Today there is a growing interest in modeling the BLEVE overpressure in the near field, for studying the blast effect on critical infrastructure such as bridges and buildings. This requires a much better understanding of the BLEVE blast. This paper goes deeper in the understanding of the physical phenomenon leading to the BLEVE blast wave generation and propagation. First, mid-scale BLEVE experiments in addition to new experimental data for near field blast from a small scale supercritical BLEVE are analyzed. And second, an analysis method of the shocks observed in the experiments is presented based on fundamental gas dynamics, and allows the elaboration of a new modeling approach for BLEVE overpressure, based on the calculation of the initial overpressure and radius of the blast.     

A new leak location method based on leakage acoustic waves for oil and gas pipelines

In order to study a new leak detection and location method for oil and natural gas pipelines based on acoustic waves, the propagation model is established and modified. Firstly, the propagation law in theory is obtained by analyzing the damping impact factors which cause the attenuation. Then, the dominant-energy frequency bands of leakage acoustic waves are obtained through experiments by wavelet transform analysis. Thirdly, the actual propagation model is modified by the correction factor based on the dominant-energy frequency bands. Then a new leak detection and location method is proposed based on the propagation law which is validated by the experiments for oil pipelines. Finally, the conclusions and the method are applied to the gas pipelines in experiments. The results indicate: the modified propagation model can be established by the experimental method; the new leak location method is effective and can be applied to both oil and gas pipelines and it has advantages over the traditional location method based on the velocity and the time difference. Conclusions can be drawn that the new leak detection and location method can effectively and accurately detect and locate the leakages in oil and natural gas pipelines.     

Safety-related conclusions for the application of ultrasound in explosive atmospheres

International safety regulations such as EN 1127-1 consider ultrasound to be an ignition source. Currently, applications of ultrasound in explosive atmospheres have to comply with a threshold value of 1 mW/mm². However, it is unclear as to how this intensity has to be measured and, therefore, this threshold value is poorly defined. Moreover, it is based on theoretical estimations in analogy to other ignition sources and there are no publications or significant records on these estimations. Within a research project at PTB, it has now been investigated experimentally in relation to worst-case considerations including airborne ultrasound, focused MHz ultrasound in liquids and acoustic cavitation. On the basis of the results of the research it is now possible to revise the current regulations and to specify measures for safe operation of ultrasonic applications in explosive atmospheres. In this context, for ultrasound coupled directly to gaseous atmospheres a new threshold value of 170 dB (re. 20 μPa) can be suggested, and for ultrasonic applications in liquids, an augmentation can be made to the threshold to 400 mW/mm².     

Climate hazards: Lessons from recent events in the United States

Three recent cases of climate extremes are studied to identify human impacts and response strategies and to identify common characteristics that may help illuminate the nature of climate hazards. The 1980 heat wave in the central United States, 1981 cold wave in Boston, Massachusetts, and recent flooding and lake level rise in northern Utah, illustrate several important aspects of climate hazards that separate them from the more traditional set of catastrophic events (e.g. tornadoes, hurricanes and earthquakes) usually dealt with by hazards research and management. Among those characteristics are an emphasis on health impacts rather than physical damage, accumulative effects rather than short shocks, a tendency for impacts to accrue to certain socio-economic classes, and relatively slow onset. The management and research implications of these hazard characteristics are explored.     

水中酚类有机污染物HPLC分析及其应用

超声辐照技术降解水中有机污染物，其降解效率的主平价需要简单、快捷和精确的分析方法。为此研究了5种优先控制酚类污染物的HPLC分离及定量分析方法，方法的定量范围为0.4-100mg/L，检测限介于0.34-0.79ng/μL。4－氯酚的超声降解实验表明，随着反应溶液中4－氯酚初始浓度的降低，降解效率明显提高，因此该方法适用于超声降解过程中酚类污染物的跟踪测定。     

超声降解水中污染物技术浅述

介绍了超声降解水中污染物的机理、影响因素和几种典型的超声联用技术。并指出超声技术在今后水处理应用领域的研究方向。     

水深变化对波高与周期联合概率密度分布影响的分析

本文研究了水深的变化以波高与周期联合概率密度分布造成影响。本文将２３６组实测数据按水深因子Ｈ的大小进行了分组，分别对其进行了谱分析和统计分析，得到了各组数据的联合分布图。利用数值模拟的方法扩大水深因子的变化幅度，得到了模拟联合分布图。研究发现，水深因子的改变不会对联合分布构成大的影响，因此得现一般水的波高与周期联合概率密度分布模式适用于浅海的结论。     

两类常用森林火灾蔓延模型的比较

简要介绍了两类常用的森林火灾蔓延模型--邻接单元模型和波动传播模型的原理和实现方法.对作为离散模型的邻接单元模型和作为连续模型的波动传播模型的优、缺点作了系统的总结,并分析了它们对系统精度、实时性、复杂性、全局适应性、计算可靠性和整个模拟系统结构性能的影响.通过对比发现,两类模型在性能上的优势和局限有很强的互补性.因此,为了提高蔓延模型的性能,并使其不受火行为和地理要素复杂性的限制,有必要取长补短,通过现有的计算机技术将两者结合起来.     

舰船环境适应性设计方法探索与实践

探索舰船环境适应性的设计方法,以提高舰船在各种复杂环境下的适应能力。分析了舰船环境适应性设计中面临的若干问题和改进提高方向,参考借鉴国内外航空航天、电子等行业成功经验,提出了指导舰船环境适应性设计的主要设计原则和工作内容。围绕改善环境条件、加强耐环境能力设计这2个方面,提出了3种环境适应性设计方法,包括基于规范的设计方法、基于环境仿真的设计方法、基于预使用验证的设计方法。根据舰船风浪环境适应性设计的特点和要求,选择采用环境仿真和模型试验技术开展了应用研究。基于分析结果,提出了增加水线面系数、调整浮心、优化线型等多项改进措施建议。采用环境仿真和模型试验相结合的方式,可有效支撑舰船风浪环境适应性设计和评估,这一方法具有较高的工程推广应用价值。另外,未来应加大环境仿真技术的研究和应用力度,尝试开展多因素综合环境仿真,以进一步提高舰船的环境适应性。     

某海域极端环境下15万吨级FPSO波浪荷载数值研究

目的 评估在役15万吨级FPSO在某海域百年一遇极端波浪作用下典型横剖面的水动力特性,进而得到FPSO的极值荷载,作为FPSO返坞改造的关键控制参数。方法 基于国产自主三维频域线性势流软件COMPASS-WALCS,建立15万吨级FPSO湿表面网格模型,根据三维绕射-辐射理论,计算湿表面上的水动力荷载,将每个绕射单元上的水动压力直接映射到结构模型上进行计算。采用谱分析方法对百年一遇海况进行分析,得到短期运动极值响应。对响应幅值算子(RAO)和波能谱密度进行谱分析,得到极端波浪下的响应谱,进而得到浮体运动和波浪荷载短期预报各种统计值,利用统计方法求得短期响应的最大值。结果 计算了船中部Fr143横剖面的载荷极值,即垂向弯矩、垂向剪力、剖面型心加速度等,发现船舶迎浪时弯矩值最大,随着浪向角增大,弯矩值逐渐减小,剖面垂向剪力则随着浪向角增大逐渐增大。结论 FPSO在极端波浪作用下,其大迎浪角条件下荷载更加危险,需要给予格外关注。