Industrial Series

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