| There are many kinds of hazardous materials involving in the chemicalprocess industry. Meanwhile, the operating conditions are complicated. Withthe development of chemical equipment features large-size and denseness oflayout, there are more potential hazards while obtaining larger economicbenefits. The initial accident of chemical equipment may trigger a chain ofaccidents due to the domino effect. This not only increases the frequency ofthe accident, but also enlarges the consequences. Therefore, the quantitativeanalysis about the domino effect of chemical equipment is very important intheoretical study and engineering application.In order to quantitative assessment of the domino effect, theconsequences and frenquencies of the initial accident and the dominoaccidents must be analyzed. On this basis, the risk of chemical equipment canbe assessed. The chemical equipment which should be intensive monitoredcan be confirmed. The main research work and the related results can besummarized as follows: (1) In order to confirm the fireball mass from the boiling liquidexpanding vapor explosion (BLEVE), a method is proposed to estimate thefireball mass for fire-induced BLEVE. A model is presented to estimate thevent time, then the vent mass from the pressure relief valve can be obtainedwhen the vent capacity of pressure relief valve is calculated. The fireball masscan be confirmed while the initial filling quantity is known.(2) A method is presented to analyze the probability of the dominoaccident. The procedure is given to analyze the domino effect of chemicalequipment. The initial accident and its probability are analyzed by using eventtree based on the frequency of direct ignition and delay ignition. Thefrequency of domino accident from target equipment is studied. The dominosequences and their probabilities are analyzed.(3) A risk assessment method is proposed to evaluate the hazard ofchemical equipment. The risk of chemical equipment not only depends on theinherent risk, but also depends on domino effect risk. The inherent risk modeland the domino effect risk model of chemical equipment are presented. Thedomino accident and its probability from the initial accident are analyzed. Thetotal risk of chemical equipment is assessed. The chemical equipment whichshould be intensive monitored can be confirmed while the risk rank of allequipment is obtained.(4) In order to analysis the domino effect from chemical accidents, asimulation platform for chemical process accidents is developed. The real life scenario of chemical plant is shown by using GIS and virtual reality. Thedesign parameters and safety measures of chemical equipment are given. Theinitial accident and domino accidents are simulated. An ethylene unit is usedto analyze the domino effect by using the simulation platform. |
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