Open AccessEVALUATION OF ACCIDENTS WITH DOMINO EFFECT IN LPG STORAGE AREAS
Author(s) -
João Rui Barbosa de Alencar,
Raquel Lazzari Leite Barbosa,
Maurício B. de Souza
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
engenharia térmica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1676-1790
DOI - 10.5380/reterm.v4i1.3541
Subject(s) - domino effect , domino , unit (ring theory) , work (physics) , environmental science , population , forensic engineering , overpressure , engineering , environmental health , mathematics , mechanical engineering , medicine , biochemistry , chemistry , physics , mathematics education , nuclear physics , thermodynamics , catalysis
The term domino effect denotes a chain of accidents, or situations, in which a fire/explosion
load generated by an accident in one unit in an industry causes secondary and higher order
accidents in other units. Such chains of accidents have a greater propensity to cause damage
than stand-alone accidents. Most of the past risk assessment studies deal with accident in
a single industry, more so in one of the units of an industry. But, often, accident in one unit
causes a secondary accident in a nearby unit, which in turn may trigger a tertiary accident,
and so on. The probability of occurrence and adverse impacts of such domino or
cascading effects are increasing due to increasing congestion in industrial complexes
and increasing density of human population around such complexes. Accidents with domino
effect are seldom studied. LPG storage areas could produce the worst possible consequences
in the event of an unforeseen incident. This work illustrates the application of models to
evaluate the impacts of events with fire and explosion in LPG tanks on other similar units
in the park and the possibility of occurrence of a domino effect. The criteria for occurrence
of accidents with domino effect adopted in this work were 37.5 kW/m2 in case of fire
radiation and an overpressure of 0.7 atm in explosion cases in a receptor body. The spacing
between LPG tanks was evaluated. The results show that such spacing is minimal and
does not represent, as it should, a parameter indicating a safe distance able to prevent the
propagation of an accident with domino effect.