Fluid Mechanics For Industrial Safety And Environmental Protection

Applications of the science of fluid mechanics to the new and expanding fields of industrial safety and environmental protection are discussed in this volume. The material is organized in accordance with the chain-of-events in real accidents, starting with the loss of containment of hazardous fluids, going on to the spreading and mixing processes in water or air, and ending with the damage loads caused by explosions, fires or toxic content. To develop solutions relevant to the wide range of problems considered, it is necessary to draw on material from various branches of fluid mechanics, i.e. from the engineering fields (aero- and gas- and hydrodynamics, hydraulics, heat transfer and two-phase flows) as well as from geophysics (environmental flows, boundary-layer meteorology). The relevant solutions are developed from the fundamental equations, but are kept simple for transparency and understanding. To achieve this, the simplifications offered by scaling, similarity and entrainment concepts are used extensively. Many of the solutions are novel but have been confirmed by laboratory experiments. The material in the book has been used as a teaching text on Master's level, but the content will be useful also for practising engineers and scientists engaged in safety and environmental impact. The problems considered have been encountered in consultancy work for industry and government agencies. The coherent presentation and the fundamental basis for analytical developments, makes the material accessible also to readers not acquainted with the field.

Evaluation of the Effects and Consequences of Major Accidents in Industrial Plants analyzes the different major accidents which can occur in process plants and during the transportation of hazardous materials. The main features of fires, explosions and toxic releases are discussed, and a set of mathematical models allowing the prediction of their effects and consequences are explained. With a practical approach, the models are applied to simple illustrative examples, as well as to more complex real cases. The use of these calculations in the frame of Quantitative Risk Analysis is also treated. Evaluation of the effects of major accidents in industrial installations covers the following topics: general introduction, source term, fire accidents, vapour cloud explosions, BLEVEs and vessel explosions, atmospheric dispersion of toxic or flammable clouds, vulnerability, and quantitative risk analysis. This book is a useful tool for engineering professionals, as well as an interesting reference for teaching at graduate and post-graduate levels. Both the essential aspects and the calculations related to the diverse accidents are discussed The prediction of effects and consequences is performed with a practical approach Recent contributions from literature have been included Subjects of increasing importance have been included: an extense analysis of BLEVEs, for example, or the atmospheric dispersion of pathogenic agents

Accidents involving reactive chemicals can often be prevented, or their effects alleviated, if those handling them have a sound knowledge both of their hazardous properties and of appropriate handling methods. This book addresses this need. It opens with a definition of the key technical terms and evaluation methods for hazardous materials are outlined. Chapter 2 covers accidents involving self-reactive substances, accidents occurring during chemical reactions, and accidents involving hazardous products in the event of an earthquake. In the next three chapters, methods for evaluating fire and explosion hazards of reactive substances are covered. The test methods described include DSC test using a sealed cell, impact sensitivity tests, the ignitability test, burning tests, the pyrolytic severity test, and shock sensitivity tests. Recently, the Japanese Fire Services Law was amended, requiring hazardous materials to be evaluated and classified by appropriate tests. These test methods, described in chapter 4, are related to oxidising solids, combustible solids, spontaneous ignition substances, and water-reactive substances. The final chapter gives examples of the safety assessment of various pyrotechnics. There are few books available on this subject and none so comprehensive. Each of the methods described is practical, effective and of low cost; and many of the application results are from the author's own laboratory. The book will be invaluable to those in public and industrial safety laboratories, R & D chemical laboratories, Fire Departments, explosives manufacturers, and those responsible for the transportation of hazardous materials.

This text - primarily aimed at students of the fundamentals for process safety - presents the fundamentals of process safety in such a form those students, who typically lack such prior knowledge and experience, will fully understand and absorb the subject. The knowledge is presented in a coherent, integrated, academic framework, which is founded in fundamental science, especially in the disciplines of physics and chemistry. The text should help students find the subject more amenable to systematic study and more clearly related to other subjects covered in their curriculum. The information has been used in the teaching of a Process Safety module to undergraduate students of chemical engineering at the University of Bradford.

The assessment and management of risk to society from the operation of chemical process plants and other industrial activities in which dangerous substances are produced, used, handled or stored will remain a topic of great importance in the next decade. In order to evaluate this specific risk on a qualitative and/or quantitative basis, the concepts of risk analyses are linked together in this book. The "performance based" and "goal oriented" regulatory requirements of the European Council's new "Seveso II Directive" for the identification of large scale industrial hazards, prevention of sudden and uncontrolled releases of dangerous substances from industrial plants and mitigation of serious consequences of industrial accidents to people and the environment are examined. The fact that risk assessment and management are key elements to such forms of regulation is also demonstrated. While the "Seveso II Directive" defines "what" has to be achieved on the control of major hazards involving dangerous substances within the European Union, the methods of risk assessment and management give guidance on "how" to achieve it. The text provides a practical guide for decision-makers in regulatory bodies and companies with a non-technical background. Scientists and engineers who are not yet familiar with the concepts of risk assessment and who want a survey of some fundamentals of, and principal results from, risk assessment studies and approaches primarily for applications in the context defined by the "Seveso Directives" will also find this book invaluable.

The value of the critical temperature (Tc), below which the thermal explosion of a chemical cannot occur, is indispensable to prevent such a chemical from exploding. In order to determine the Tc it has so far been necessary to measure the value in explosion experiments. Because of the inherent hazards, only few Tc values are available at present. Critical Temperatures for the Thermal Explosion of Chemicals introduces new and simple procedures to calculate the Tc. As a result Tc can be calculated for a range of chemicals, many of which are listed in this new volume. The calculated values of Tc are shown to be in agreement with experimentally determined values. The data and methods presented in Critical Temperatures for the Thermal Explosion of Chemicals will be of use to research laboratories as well as in the chemical industry. Introduces new and simple procedures for calculating critical temperatures Lists the T(c) values of chemicals in tables Explains mathematical expressions in clear simple terms

Offshore Risk Assessment was the first book to deal with quantified risk assessment (QRA) as applied specifically to offshore installations and operations. This book is a major revision of the first edition. It has been informed by a major R&D programme on offshore risk assessment in Norway (2002-2006). Not only does this book describe the state-of-the-art of QRA, it also identifies weaknesses and areas that need development.