Conference Papers
Process equipment containing hazardous or flammable materials in petrochemical facilities can be subjected to significant blast loads from accidental Vapour Cloud Explosions (VCE). Storage tanks are of particular importance, since these can potentially contain significant amounts of such materials. Calculating the response (damage) of particular types of tank and associated equipment under explosion blast loads can be complicated and expensive. Moreover, determining if the predicted damage has any potential for releasing the contents of the tank can be challenging and involve complex calculations. Simplifications can be made to model certain types of equipment such as bullet tanks in order to obtain qualitative estimates of damage based on empirical data, analytical approximations, and observed damage from industrial explosions. The simplified models can be used to assess the potential for damage in terms of the peak pressure (P) and impulse (i) which is the integral of pressure-time function. These parameters can be used to define any blast load. Therefore, the damage estimate is not only dependent on the equivalent static pressure, but takes the blast duration into account.
As the biofuels industry continues to expand in support of global decarbonization mandates and objectives, facility owners and developers are being challenged to balance production efficiency, operational reliability, and personnel safety.
As high hazard facilities, biofuels sites should focus on developing a fire protections strategy informed by performance-based analysis so strategies implemented meet the unique challenges found at each facility.
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