Obtaining convex correlations for the analysis of the BLEVE blast effects. Safety distances estimation based on specific vulnerability levels.

Abstract

In the last years, due to the great number of catastrophic accidents in the chemical industry, obtaining a methodology whose application contributes to the mitigation of its effects has become important. In this work, two correlations that describe the behavior of a specific event (BLEVE explosion) are obtained by means of a linear combination of simple convex functions among the main variables: total internal energy of the system just before the explosion, distance and level of damage / type of receptor. The first correlation allows to estimate the safety distance of any hazardous substance producing a BLEVE and the second, the level of damage (expressed in terms of overpressure) caused to a typical receptor located at a given distance from the catastrophic event. In future works, these correlations could be applied following inherently safe process design methodologies.