A methodology to design an effective steam curtain to mitigate an accidental release of a high-pressure jet in a chemical plant

Industrial safety in chemical industries faces the constant threat of accidental releases, presenting risks to workers, surrounding communities and the environment. Regulatory frameworks like Directive 2012/18/EU aim to mitigate such risks. Despite preventive measures, the persistence of accidental releases necessitates effective mitigation strategies. This study explores steam curtains as an active mitigation measure for high-pressure releases, focusing on methane, a common industrial hazard. Through computational fluid dynamics simulations and analysis, a criterion is proposed for steam curtain design: determining the required steam flow rate for effective dilution and establishing a design plan for a plane jet steam curtain considering specific constraints. The study utilizes methodologies based on Birch's model to reduce the computational cost and the time required for simulations. The results demonstrate the applicability of the method across various scenarios, accounting for wind effects and design consideration. Challenges such as steam pressure optimization and nozzle spacing are discussed. The proposed criterion contributes to advancing industrial safety practices. • An analytical criterion was developed to design an effective steam curtain. • A high-pressure release was considered as hazard source. • To validate the criterion CFD simulations were conducted. • The simulations performed agree with the results of the proposed method.