Risk assessment of major hazards: the effect of ground slope
Risk assessment of major hazards: the effect of ground slope
Liquefied gases, such as chlorine and ammonia, are stored in large quantities at industrial sites. If released accidentally, they form a heavy gas cloud that has the potential to kill or injure large numbers of people. The dispersion of such a cloud is thus of interest to the risk assessment community [Nussey, Pantony, & Smallwood, 1992. HSE’s risk assessment tool, RISKAT. In: Major Hazards: Onshore and Offshore. pp. 607–638].
Little is understood about the effect of slope on risk. Here, the risk (probability) of being exposed to the gas cloud, given a release, is considered; probability language is needed because wind direction is assumed to be a random variable.
This paper shows how the risk of being exposed to toxic gas released over a slope may be estimated using simple physical modelling.
The physical model used is that of Tickle [J. Hazard. Mater. 49 (1996) 29], who showed that a finite-volume instantaneous release on an inclined plane can form a stable wedge-shaped cloud that moves down the line of greatest slope. Nonzero windspeeds are accounted for by following Tickle’s suggestion of vectorially adding windspeed to the advection induced by the slope.
A range of windspeeds and slopes are considered. The slopes substantially affect the risk in the sense that the predicted risk contours are far from circularly symmetric.
Heavy gas dispersion, Risk assessment, Slopes
305-311
Hankin, Robin K.S.
698538a9-d7fd-4177-bade-d613a9693e50
July 2003
Hankin, Robin K.S.
698538a9-d7fd-4177-bade-d613a9693e50
Hankin, Robin K.S.
(2003)
Risk assessment of major hazards: the effect of ground slope.
Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries, 16 (4), .
(doi:10.1016/S0950-4230(03)00020-2).
Abstract
Liquefied gases, such as chlorine and ammonia, are stored in large quantities at industrial sites. If released accidentally, they form a heavy gas cloud that has the potential to kill or injure large numbers of people. The dispersion of such a cloud is thus of interest to the risk assessment community [Nussey, Pantony, & Smallwood, 1992. HSE’s risk assessment tool, RISKAT. In: Major Hazards: Onshore and Offshore. pp. 607–638].
Little is understood about the effect of slope on risk. Here, the risk (probability) of being exposed to the gas cloud, given a release, is considered; probability language is needed because wind direction is assumed to be a random variable.
This paper shows how the risk of being exposed to toxic gas released over a slope may be estimated using simple physical modelling.
The physical model used is that of Tickle [J. Hazard. Mater. 49 (1996) 29], who showed that a finite-volume instantaneous release on an inclined plane can form a stable wedge-shaped cloud that moves down the line of greatest slope. Nonzero windspeeds are accounted for by following Tickle’s suggestion of vectorially adding windspeed to the advection induced by the slope.
A range of windspeeds and slopes are considered. The slopes substantially affect the risk in the sense that the predicted risk contours are far from circularly symmetric.
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Published date: July 2003
Keywords:
Heavy gas dispersion, Risk assessment, Slopes
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Local EPrints ID: 58562
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/58562
ISSN: 0950-4230
PURE UUID: cfd6c7e7-3cd7-40e1-acd8-a530847159e0
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Date deposited: 14 Aug 2008
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 11:11
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Author:
Robin K.S. Hankin
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