Numerical analysis of the explosion of gas tanks using computational fluid dynamics

Abstract

Buildings are composed of several systems, each with specific designs and regulations to ensure that constructions are safe and viable. Many residential, commercial, and industrial buildings have systems with gas central storage, which must be subjected to strict safety criteria to avoid accidents. In addition to the safety mechanisms provided by manufacturers, designers of these gas central storage must consider other devices to reduce explosion risk and mitigate the damaging blast effects. Explosions are physical-chemical phenomena that are characterized by the sudden expansion of a material and, consequently, energy release. When an accidental explosion occurs, much damage is caused by the shock wave and fragments. In the case of pressure vessels, a mechanical explosion can occur. Studying this explosion is essential to developing a more reliable, safe design for surrounding buildings and its users. This work aims to study the effects of gas tank explosions. In this study, the Autodyn computational tool based on fluid dynamics (CFD) is used. This software allows the modeling of complex explosion scenarios and the evaluation of blast wave parameters. For each numerical model, the overpressure levels outdoors and indoors are evaluated. The results indicated how the wave overpressures are distributed in different scenarios, and from them, it was possible to analyze the damaging levels.

Numerical analysis of physical barriers to mitigate the gas tank explosion effects using computational fluid dynamics

“…In an overpressure analysis, the portion of energy not carried by the shock wave can be called energy loss. In the study presented by Moura et al [31], this loss was estimated at approximately 25%. With this energy loss value, the TNT equivalent mass was estimated and modelled with spherical shape for a more uniform detonation energy distribution.…”

“…The main numerical validation process in this work was the same presented by Moura et al [31]. These researchers compared the overpressure peaks from the domestic gas tank explosion obtained by numerical simulations with the results of the equations listed in Table 1 and with experimental data from Tschirschwitz et al [8], as shown in Figure 4.…”