Blast Adjustment Factors for Elevated Horizontal PVBs

Abstract A pressure vessel burst (PVB) is an explosion scenario commonly encountered at chemical processing and petroleum refining facilities. PVBs pose both blast and fragmentation hazards. Blast prediction methods specific to PVBs were first developed in the 1970s and revised blast curves were published in 1995. The published blast curves were developed for spherical vessel bursts. However, most pressure vessels are cylindrical rather than spherical. The blast wave originating from a cylindrical PVB is not spherical (i.e., as would be the case for a spherical vessel). Rather, the blast to the sides of a cylindrical vessel is stronger than on the ends, creating non-spherical pressure contours, particularly in the near-field. The authors previously investigated cylindrical vessel directional blast effects and produced a correlation to account for the directional effects. However, the cases previously examined were (a) a horizontal or vertical vessel at ground level, and (b) a vertical vessel at an elevated height. The prior work also considered elevated spherical vessels. This paper extends the prior work to elevated horizontal PVBs. The three-dimensional directional blast load effects associated with an elevated horizonal vessel were investigated and compared with the existing data base for hemispherical PVBs on ground. Updated adjustment factors for blast overpressure and impulse as a function of vessel geometry and burst conditions are provided.