Technical-forensic study of unconfined vapour cloud explosions, (UVCE)

Identifier:  TFM:323

Handle: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11797/TFM323

Authors:  Martí Torres, Karen

Abstract:
In recent years, the devastating Unconfined Vapour Cloud Explosions (UVCE) have significantly attracted the attention. The UCVE explosions tend to occur mainly in the chemical sector, especially in refineries, petrochemical industries, transfer of liquids, transport of dangerous goods and, also in companies using flammable liquid at some stage of the productive process. These explosions are hard to foresee and the effects are mainly atrocious, both economic and, unfortunately, standing of victims. This work has been done at the company OTIC (Oficina Técnica de Ingeniería Forense), a company founded in 1984 and dedicated, with extensive and proven experience, to the determination of the origin and the causes of incidents, especially in the field of investigation and modeling fire and explosions, as well as in the elaboration of emergency plans. After the search in the literature and the fieldwork with the technics of this company, concretely, casualties to chemical industries due to failures in chemical engineering process, it is proposed a methodology for the analysis, investigation and prevention of the UVCE.