Determination of Pressure Levels for Siting Light Wood Trailers at Chemical Plants and Refineries

摘要

The Explosion Research Cooperative (ERC), a joint industry research program, was started by Baker Engineering and Risk Consultants, Inc. (BakerRisk) in 1993 and is now completing its thirteenth year. The ERC is funded by chemical, petrochemical, refining, and insurance companies interested in understanding and predicting explosion hazards and their consequences on buildings, process equipment and people, as well as preventing or mitigating explosions. Since January 2006, the ERC has been conducting a study on the blast capacity of portable buildings at refineries and chemical plants. The work summarized in this paper was performed by Baker Engineering and Risk Consultants, Inc. (BakerRisk). The work presented should not be considered an official guidance document or standard of the ERC or its member companies.The ERC tasked BakerRisk to develop a set of consistent damage curves (Pressure-impulse or P-I curves) for a variety of portable buildings including light wood trailers so that ERC participants could site portable buildings while considering occupant safety. The ERC agreed to make the pressure asymptotes for the damage curves for light wood trailers available to the American Petroleum Institute for use in API RP 753 - Management of Hazards Associated with Location of Portable Process Plant Buildings. The trailer properties selected are representative of the weakest trailer construction types that are likely to be encountered in the continental United States. The asymptotes are presented in terms of the free-field overpressure and account for reflections and clearing effects. Asymptotes are provided for Building Damage Levels 2A and 2B, as discussed below.