CFD Based Reproduction of Amuay Refinery Accident 2012

Abstract

Amuay refinery accident 2012 is the recent follower of similar nature accidents happened in Buncefield, UK (2005), Jaipur, India and Puerto-Rico, USA (both in 2009), respectively. The failure of a mechanical part i.e. valve or piping led to the escape of a flammable dense-than-air cloud. Approximation of size of such clouds depends on the density of the dispersed gas, atmospheric turbulence (wind, temperature and humidity), gravity and their mutual interactions. Since experimental reproduction of such accidents are not always possible numerical simulations help a lot to understand and replicate the scenarios on qualitative basis. In the present work Amuay refinery accident (2012) is reproduced with a CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) model which takes into account the heaviness of the gas (LPG here), wind and gravity driven spread. The extent to which the dispersed gas could travel is specified as LFL (Lower Flammability Limit) criterion. It is assumed that the running vehicles on the street across the plant were the major source of ignition. Scenarios for different atmospheric conditions are considered and compared. For validation purposes also a reproduction of the Thorney Island Trial 26 is conducted.