DCMH.
CH4051
Process Safety
The course is about explaining the fundamentals of process safety
and its application to processing industries. The course covers topi
cs on regulatory and standard requirement on process safety, sour
ce modeling for leakage rates, dispersion models for toxic release,
fire and explosion impact analysis. The course will also include the
identification of hazards, estimation of probability of failure, assess
ment of risk and propose prevention and mitigation techniques to e
nhance process safety in processing industries.
Explosion
Prepared by:
Dr. Azizul Buang
Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS
For:
Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology
[Link]
e-take-deadly-toll-2017/
[Link]
ys-numerous-science-experiments
Chapter Outline
01 Introduction
02 Deflagration and Detonation
03 VCE and BLEVE
04 Damage and Effect of Explosion
Instructional Learning Objectives
After completing this
chapter, students should be able
to do the following:
1. Understand the term
explosion and its type
2. Estimate the damage due to
explosion
3. Understand how to
control the explosion
parameters in order to avoid
and minimize the explosion
Classification of Explosions
• A bursting tire is a MECHANICAL explosion
• In the process industries, the major interest is in CHEMICAL explosions,
where the energy is derived from a chemical reaction (often,
combustion)
• Chemical explosions are either DEFLAGRATIONS or DETONATIONS
Relationship between
the pressure shock
and reaction fronts will
determine whether the
explosion is
deflagrations or
detonation.
Deflagration
Relatively slow For
combustion of hydrocarbon/air
a flammable mixtures, the flame
mixture and shock wave
velocities are ~
1m/s (velocity of
sound is 330 m/s)
Front velocities may
increase, especially in
pipes but for a
deflagration will
The peak pressure always be less than
caused by the speed of sound in
deflagration of the unreacted gas
HC/air mixture at
1 atm in a closed
vessel is about 8
bar
Detonation
Occurs when re Peak pressure generated by
actions in the fla detonation of HC/air mixtu
me front self-acc re at 1 atm in a closed v
elerate essel is
~20 bar
The rise from ambient to
maximum pressure in th
This may be initiated b e shock wave takes <1 mi
y rapid, intense inp llisecond
ut of energy to provi
de an initial shock
wave
Detonation front velocities i
n the unreacted gas for H
C/air mixtures are
~2000 m/s
Detonation vs. Deflagration
Deflagration to
Detonation Transition (DDT)
• In a pipe, energy from a deflagration can feed forward to the
pressure wave, causing pressure to build
• This increases the energy production per unit volume, and front
speed accelerate.
• In this way, a deflagration may evolve into a detonation.
• This is very unlikely in vessels or unconfined vapor cloud.
[Link]
Shock front / shock wave
[Link]
Deflagration versus Detonation
[Link]
Beirut Port Blast
[Link]
An overpressure caused when a
gas cloud detonates or deflagrates
The most in open air rather than simply A VCE may
dangerous and burns occur at some
destructive distance from
explosions in the the release
chemical process point
industries.
Vapour Cloud
Explosion
Sudden release of MECHANISM
a large quantity Mixing of the
of flammable vapour with air
vapour (e.g. By
rupture of a
pressure vessel Ignition of the
containing vapour cloud - edges
superheated start to burn through
liquid) Cloud will spread from deflagration (steady
too rich, through state combustion).
flammable range to
too lean.
BLEVE ( Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion)
Explosive
expansion
of
pressurise
d vapour
Rupture of
in the
vessel
tank
containing
vapour
liquid above
space
its
atmospheric
boiling point
BLEVE ( Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion)
The most common type of BLEVE is caused by fire
which is known as thermally-induced BLEVE
A fire develops adjacent to a
If the flames reach the The tank ruptures,
tank containing a liquid.
tank walls or roof of explosively
The fire heats the wall.
the empty tank side, vaporizing its
The liquid absorbs heat and
the tank metal contents.
prevents the wall getting too
Temperature rises
hot, thus, increasing the
until the tank loses it
liquid temperature and
structural strength.
pressure in the tank.
Dust Explosion
A dust explosion is the rapid combustion of fine particles susp
ended in the air within an enclosed location. Dust explosions
can occur where any dispersed powdered combustible
material is present in high-enough concentrations in the
atmosphere or other oxidizing gaseous medium, such as pure
oxygen.
Dust Explosion
Which Dusts Can Burn Explosively?
Materials which, if finely divided and dispersed in air
can burn explosively, include:
Most organic materials,
Many metals e.g., Fe, Al, Zr, Ti.
Some non-metals e.g., S, Si, P2S 5
Combustible Dust Explosion Pentagon:
Five Elements – ALL Necessary
1. Combustible Dust
2. Oxygen in Air
3. Ignition Source
3. Ignition Source
4. Dispersion 5. Confinement
4. Dispersion
5. Confinement
Explosion
IMPORTANT
NO DUST EXPLOSION OCCURS
if one or more elements 1. Combustible Dust 2. Oxygen in Air
are missing
Increase of Surface Area
• Finer the particle > surface area = more explosive a dust is
likely to be
• Dust made up of particle sizes from fine to coarse; fines play
a more prominent role in explosion
• Presence of dusts should be anticipated in process stream-
regardless of starting particle size
Secondary Explosions
As this animation
illustrates, secondary
explosions can be far
more destructive than
primary
explosions due to the
increased quantity
and concentration of
dispersed
combustible dust.
Primary and Secondary Explosions
In order for a dust explosion to occur it is necessary for the dust
to be in suspension, and within its flammable range.
A unique characteristic of dusts is their potential to accumulate
on surfaces, and then to be re-suspended, a strong air
movement or shock wave.
If a small dust explosion occurs in an area where there is dust,
a secondary explosion may occur which could be significantly
more severe than the primary event.
As little as 1/32 inch of dust layer is sufficient to cause this, and
the mechanism has historically been responsible for explosions
propagating between interconnected buildings, equipment, etc.
Example of Primary and Secondary Dust Explosion
Dust
layer
False
Ceiling
Blender
Additives Blending Room
Example of Primary and Secondary Dust Explosion
Dust
layer
False
Ceiling
Blender
Additives Blending Room
Example of Primary and Secondary Dust Explosion
False
Ceiling
Destroyed
& Dust
forms
clouds
Blender
Additives Blending Room
Example of Primary and Secondary Dust Explosion
Bender
Additives Blending Room
Blast Damage Resulting from
Overpressure
• Blast damage is based on the determination of the peak
side-on overpressure resulting from the pressure wave
impacting on a structure.
• The damage is also a function of the rate of pressure
increase and the duration of the blast wave
• Estimates of blast damage can be obtained using the
peak side-on overpressure.
• Damage estimates based on overpressures can be
obtained from Table 6-9.
Blast Damage
Resulting from
Overpressure
Table 6-9: Damage
estimates for
common structures
based on
overpressure
Equivalent Mass of TNT
• Overpressure can be estimated using an equivalent mass of
TNT, denoted as mTNT and the distance from the ground-zero
point of the explosion, denoted r.
• The scaled distance can be empirically derived from scaling law
r
ze = 1/ 3
mTNT Equation 6-25
• The equivalent energy of TNT is 1120 cal/g
• = 4686 kJ/kg = 2016 Btu/lb.
• Figure 6-23 provides a correlation for the scaled overpressure
ps versus scaled distance ze.
Blast Damage Resulting from
Overpressure
Figure 6- 23:
Correlation
between scaled
distance and
explosion peak
side-on
overpressure for a
TNT explosion
Scaled Overpressure
• The scaled overpressure ps is given by
po peak side-on overpressure
ps = Equation 6-26
pa ambient pressure.
• The correlation given in Fig. 6-23 is valid for TNT explosions
occurring on a flat surface
• For explosions occurring in the open air, well above the
ground, the resulting overpressure from Fig 6-23 is multiplied
by 0.5
• The correlation in Fig 6-23 can also represented by
ze
2
1616 1 +
po 4.5
= Equation 6-27
pa ze
2
z
2
z
2
1+ 1+ e 1+ e
0.048 0.32 1.35
Blast Damage Resulting from Overpressure
TNT Equivalency
The equivalent mass of TNT;
mH c
mTNT = Equation 6-28
ETNT
Explosion efficiency is empirical, with most of flammable cloud
estimates varying between 1% and 10%.
The overpressure curve for TNT tends to overpredict the
overpressure near the VCE and to underpredict at distance away from
the VCE.
Example
◼ Example 6-10 - One kilogram of TNT is exploded. Compute the
overpressure at a distance of 30 m from the explosion
◼ Solution
The value of the scaling parameter is determined using Equation 6-25
- ze = 30 m kg-1/3
The scaled overpressure - ps = 0.055 since ambient pressure = 1 atm
The resulting side-on overpressure is about
(0.055)x(101.3 kPa)
= 5.6 kPa (about 0.81 psi)
This will cause minor damage to house structures.
Example
One thousand kilograms of methane escapes from a storage vessel,
mixes with air, and explodes. Determine:
(a) the equivalent amount of TNT. Assume an explosion efficiency of
2%. ∆HC of methane is 818.7 kJ/mol
mH c
mTNT =
ETNT
mTNT =
(0.02) (1000kg ) (1mol 0.016 kg ) (818.7 kJ / mol )
4686 kJ / kg
mTNT = 218 kg TNT
Example
One thousand kilograms of methane escapes from a storage vessel,
mixes with air, and explodes. Determine:
(b) the side-on peak overpressure at a distance of 50 m from the
blast.
r 50m
ze = = = 8 . 3 m/kg1/3
1/ 3
mTNT (218kg)1 / 3
From Figure 6-23, the scaled overpressure is 0.25. Thus the overpr
essure is
po = pa ps = 101.3kPa 0.25 = 25 kPa
This overpressure will demolish steel panel buildings
Blast Damage Resulting from Overpressure
Missile Damage
• An explosion occurring in a confined
structure may cause projection of debris /
missiles over a wide area.
• Could cause appreciable injury and
damage – also secondary fires or
explosions.
Photo from: [Link]
dattica/infochimica/2008_Esplosivi/
[Link]
Blast Damage Resulting from Overpressure
Blast Damage to People
• People can be injured by explosions from direct blast effects
(including overpressure and thermal radiation) or indirect blast
effects (mostly missile damage).
• Blast damage effects are estimated using probit analysis.
• Injury to personnel is determined using probit equations from
Table 2-5 (pg 53 of Crowl & Louvar).
• The Probit equation for deaths resulting from lung hemorrhage
is Y = -77.1 +6.91lnP
• The probit equation for eardrum rupture is Y = -15.6 + 1.93 ln P
• Table 2-4 convert the Probit to percentages.
Blast
Damage to
People -
Probit
Analysis
Table 2-5:
Probit
Correlations
for a variety
of exposures
Blast Damage Resulting from Overpressure
Blast Damage to People
Table 2-4: Transformation from percentages to probits
Example
A reactor contains the equivalent of 10,000 Ib of TNT. If it explodes,
estimate the injury to people 500 ft away.
r 500 ft
ze = = = 23.2 ft Ib1/3 = 9.20 m/kg1/3
mTNT (10000 Ib)
1/ 3 1/ 3
From Figure 6-23, the scaled overpressure is 0.21. Thus the overpressure is
po = pa ps = 14.7 psia 0.21 = 3.1 psia
3.1 psi N / m2
P = 101325 = 21400 N/m 2
14.7 psi / atm atm
Example
Loss Prevention: Designing Facilities for Use of
Explosive Materials
1 Pressure rate-of-rise 2 Ventilation & Humidity 3 Light-scattering laser
detectors photometers
Pressure rate-of-rise Controlling ventilation Fixed monitoring for
detectors can & humidity level mass and size fraction
activate a device or above 25%. using light-scattering
system to extinguish laser photometers
a potential providing real-time
explosion before it 4 aerosol mass readings.
Inerting
reaches an explosive
stage.
Inerting – purging supply of
nitrogen when flammable
atmospheres are detected with
care being taken for those
workers in the area – (Breathing
Apparatus available for
Emergency Donning)
Loss Prevention: Design of Buildings
1 Blow out walls and 2 3
Shielding Burst disc
window
Relief of Shielding personnel Burst vessel/container
overpressure – and equipment – disk – venting away to
break away & blow deflection of shock transmit pressure
out walls and wave so as not to pass wave harmlessly to
window openings to un-obstructived into outside atmosphere
minimize another work area.
destructiveness
(explosion release
panel). 4 Explosive proof
Explosive proof wall or
barrier (blast wall)
41