Influence of the configuration factor reduction in the consequences caused by a fireball

Abstract

Knowledge of the consequences caused by industrial accidents in recent decades makes it imperative to propose new methodologies to minimize the damage. One of the most hazardous events are BLEVEs (Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapour Explosion) and the immediate fireball generation, since the thermal radiation field generated is far-reached. The calculation of safety distances can be combined with the presence of passive protection systems in such a way as to reduce the consequences at the minimum installation/operation cost. In this paper, a simple correlation is proposed that evaluates the influence of the reduction of the configuration factor due to the presence of an obstruction (for example: firewall) in the estimation of safety distances or defined a distance, the reduction of the impact (incident thermal radiation) given the occurrence of a fireball. It is concluded that the distance decreases significantly with the reduction of the configuration factor and that such a correlation can be implemented even in the early stages of the design to evaluate the feasibility of placing passive protection systems.