There has been considerable progress over the last decade in validating models to predict the loading resulting from an explosion in an offshore module. However, much of the experimental work that provided the validation of the models has involved using idealized gas clouds, generally natural gas or methane at a single concentration throughout the whole volume. This paper describes an experimental project and modeling work undertaken to provide a more realistic representation of the risks posed by gas explosions in offshore platforms. The project involved laboratory, medium and large scale experiments, examining the effects of realistic fuel mixtures, realistic gas release conditions and non-homogeneous gas clouds filling only a portion of the module. Comparison with gas dispersion and explosion models was also carried out.
展开▼
