Dynamic response analysis of the tank front platform in the LNG terminal under blast loading

Abstract The tank front platform in the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal concentrates numerous natural gas pipelines and valves. Once gas leakage occurs, there is a significant explosion risk. This paper investigates the analysis methods for explosion overpressure and structural dynamic response of the tank front platform under blast loading. Firstly, an explosion shock wave analysis model was established based on the Arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) algorithm and fluid-structure coupling theory, analyzing the propagation trends of explosion pressure with time. Subsequently, the blast loading was applied to the platform structure through fluid-structure coupling for structural dynamic response analysis, determining stress distribution and its time-dependent variation trend. The results show that the explosion overpressure exhibits distinct transient characteristics after detonation, requiring sufficiently small computational time steps to capture the maximum pressure. The steel structures near the explosion source experience extremely high stresses, necessitating reinforcement in the design of steel structures in leakage and explosion risk zones. Even after the peak explosion pressure subsides, steel structure stresses continue to fluctuate at relatively high levels, which also requires special attention.