Risk-based explosion hazard analysis and building upgrades in industrial facilities to prevent blast failures

Abstract

Accidental loadings such as blast loadings constitute the great majority of potential and actual fatalities in industrial facilities. To prevent human loss and injuries, and for a safe design or blast assessment of an industrial building, the risks of these accidental loadings should be quantified in terms of both probability/frequency and consequence aspects. In this paper, we propose a combined risk-based approach for the assessment of all accidental loadings. The study includes a newly developed risk-based method that can be used for blast analyses of buildings in industrial facilities. The methodology is introduced for blast design/analysis of structures in industrial facilities with explosion hazards. Within this scope, the paper presents an evaluation of explosion hazards in industrial facilities. The study also focuses on a series of vital phases in the analysis and design stages, including explosion modeling, building screening analysis, detailed structural analysis, conceptual structural upgrade design, and final upgrade design. Finally, upgrade techniques for buildings in industrial facilities against explosions are also provided to minimize the individual risk.