Enclosed Process Bay Vented Blast Loads and Impacts on Occupied Buildings

PresentationA typical approach to suppressing the effects of a vapor explosion inside an enclosed process building or bay is to use vent panels to relieve the confined blast pressures. This results in blast expanding outside the process building and reaching near-by buildings with potential hazardous consequences. Before the venting happens, blast also propagates within the process building itself and can load areas such as a control room. This paper examines blast wave characteristics (e.g., magnitude, shape, duration) of vented loads that are released after the vent panel is disposed of and the resulting blast loading on a near-by building assumed to be occupied. Blast propagation within the process building and loading on connected occupied areas (e.g., control room, break room) are also examined