Explosive Storage Research Articles

A methodology for predicting far-field blast loading on structures

Structural engineers are often tasked with the challenge of enhancing the resilience of buildings and structures to withstand blast loading from the detonation of energetic materials. Such loading typically occurs during terrorist attacks and from accidental explosions in nearby chemical and explosive storage facilities. However, existing methods for predicting the governing blast loading on a structure, through consideration of multiple explosion scenarios, are unsuitable for most practising structural engineers. This paper will address the need for fast-running tools for predicting blast loads on structures in the far-field by presenting the semi-empirical EMBlast method that calculates free-field and reflected pressure-time histories for both the positive and negative phase. For finite size target surfaces, this method also accounts for clearing effects, a phenomenon that results in gradually reducing the reflected pressures on the front face of a building, to the lower free-field pressures experienced by the sides and roof. To validate the predictions of the EMBlast method in the far-field, computational fluid dynamic analyses are performed over a long-range of scaled distances. Furthermore, the EMBlast predictions are also compared with the results from published blast tests, existing empirical methods and computational fluid dynamic simulations identified in the literature.

Numerical Simulation of Explosive Storage Underground Structure Subjected to Blast

In this study, finite element (FE) analysis of underground structure is carried out, which is subjected to the internal blast loading and the structure is surrounded with soil media. Three different methods to analyze the effect of blast loading on structure, i.e. ConWep, smooth particle hydrodynamics (SPH), and couple Eulerian-Lagrangian (CEL) are used for the simulation of blast loading using ABAQUS/ExplicitⓇ. Concrete damage plasticity (CDP), Mohr–Coulomb, Johnson–Cook (JC) plasticity model, Jones–Wilkins–Lee (JWL) equation of state and ideal gas are utilized for defining behavior of concrete, soil, steel, explosive and air, respectively. FE analysis is performed to compare the behavior of structure under different blast modelling methods. The effect of different explosive weights is considered to see the impact of the blast load on the structure. For parametric analysis, three explosive weights, 3[Formula: see text]kg, 5[Formula: see text]kg, and 10[Formula: see text]kg of TNT (trinitro toluene), and three concrete grades, M30, M35, and M40 are considered to see the stability of the structure. The effect of varied explosive weights and varied concrete grades is compared in terms of stress, pressure, and displacement at critical locations of the structure. The outcome of this shows that the change in explosive weight and concrete grade considerably affects the stability of the structure. As the explosive weight increases, damage to the structure increases, and with the increase in the concrete grade, the blast load resistance capacity of the structure increases. It is observed that buried part of the structure is more resistant to blast load compared to the structure visible above ground.

Presenting a Model to Assess the Risk of Explosives Warehouse Hazards using the Combined Aras-Shannon's Entropy Methods in a Fuzzy Environment

Background and Objective: Explosives storage is considered one of the most dangerous working parts of mines where the people working there are exposed to all kinds of physical, chemical, and psychological risks and injuries that can negatively affect their health. Therefore, the current research aimed to provide a model for risk assessment of hazards in these warehouses. Materials and Methods: Firstly, using the Fine-Kinney risk assessment method, the effective criteria in determining the risks of explosives warehouse, including including intensity, probability and frequency of exposure were identified. Therafter, the weight of each criterion was calculated using Shannon's entropy method. Finally, the risks of explosives warehouses were determined and prioritized using the ARAS method. Results: Based on Shannon's entropy method calculations, the intensity criterion with a weight of 0.61 was assigned the most weight among the three investigated criteria. Moreover, among the various risks investigated, the use of any flame-producing devices in the warehouse (R14), non-use of special tools while opening the box of explosives (R17), and opening the boxes inside the warehouse (R7) were determined as the most important risks of explosives warehouses. Conclusion: In this study, intensity was determined as the most important criterion, and the use of any flame-producing devices in the warehouse was determined as the most important risk. The proposed method can be used as a risk assessment method to identify the risks in the warehouse of explosives.

Order picking heuristics for online order fulfillment warehouses with explosive storage

Fulfillment Warehouses (F-Warehouses) convert online customer orders into a delivery package. Key differences between a traditional and an F-Warehouse are (i) a very large number of small storage bins, (iii) an explosive storage policy that disperses inventory of each item to multiple bins, and (iii) commingled bin storage. The paper introduces the explosive storage picking problem, which is a special case of the traditional order picking problem. Since they stock items in multiple locations, there are multiple picking options for each item. A picklist for several items is generated from the current inventory dispersion and the objective is to minimize the picklist bin range. The problem is first formulated as an MIP and then three fast solutions, SpaceX MIP, H1, and H2 are presented. The H1 and H2 seed heuristics use weighted bin order fillability, as a surrogate for the probability a seed bin will generate short picklists. For small problems, SpaceX MIP found the optimal solution. Larger problems compared H1 and H2 with the SpaceX MIP solutions. On average, the H1 solution was 34% longer while the H2 solution was only 18% longer. The H1+2 strategy selects the shorter of the two solutions. For 62% of problems, H1+2 matched the SpaceX solution, and for only 17% of problems, the solution was worse than 20%. We tested H1+2 on an F-Warehouse simulator and it achieved 40% faster fulfillment relative to the benchmark.

Economic risk assessment of ammonium nitrate explosions at the Busan Port by determining the building damage using a 3D explosion simulation

Explosion-related disasters are large and difficult to predict; therefore, the magnitude of potential risks must be identified ahead of time. This paper presents a new method for evaluating economic risk based on building damage that can be carried out in advance. The study was conducted using scenario-based hazard analysis, vulnerability analysis, and risk assessment. Using the GIS (Geographic Information System) technique, spatial information of the damage target range was constructed, and the hazard analysis of the explosion accident was analyzed in connection with a three-dimensional explosion simulation. Vulnerability analysis based on impact was performed by reflecting building spatial information (location, material, and height), and economic risks caused by explosions in appropriate scenarios were confirmed by applying a new methodology that reflects the total area and building cost of 4708 building objects with an explosion radius of 3 km. The results revealed that the estimated damage costs of 44,616,934,076 won (∼3.60000 US dollars) and 584,230,849,444 won (∼476 million US dollars), respectively, provided the basis for policy decision-making for accident prevention. Using this study, the risk of explosion can be predicted in advance, and effective support for explosive storage buildings in terms of engineering, policy, and management is possible to minimize damage.

MEASURES OF FIRE AND EXPLOSION SAFETY OF EXPLOSIVES AND TECHNICAL MEANS DURING CARRIAGE OF FORENSIC EXPLOSION TECHNICAL EXAMINATIONS

Problem statement. Forensic explosive examination - a type of forensic examination, the subject of which is the actual data (circumstances), which are related to determining the group affiliation and a single source of explosive devices as a whole or their fragments (fragments), elements of explosive devices, explosion circumstances are established on the basis of special knowledge in the field of forensic explosives on issues raised for examination. The article is aimed at determining the main factors and causes of fires and explosions during storage, detonation of explosives, as well as provide recommendations for the use of technical means for forensic explosives. The purpose of research. To analyze the main factors and causes of fire and explosion hazard during storage, detonation of explosives, provide recommendations for the use of technical means for judicial explosives, as well as recommendations for storage of explosives. In the course of fire technical examinations and research, the following issues are resolved: where was the source of the fire; the ways in which the flames spread; what is the cause of the fire; whether the Rules of fire safety at the site were violated; whether there is a causal link between the fire and the fire condition of the facility. Conclusions. In the course of explosive examinations and research, the following issues are resolved: what is the subject submitted for research; whether the object submitted for examination is equipped with an explosive; whether the object submitted for research belongs to the category of explosive devices (ammunition); Is the explosive device detonated in this place? If so, what type of device does it belong to (what are its design features, country of manufacture, etc.); whether the objects found at the scene (in the body of the victim) are parts of an explosive device; in what way, improvised or industrial, the explosive device is made; what was the way of undermining, was used in this case; if ammunition is detonated, what type they belong to (grenades, mines, shells, etc.); whether this device can cause an explosion; whether the materials provided to the expert contain data indicating the personality traits of the manufacturer of the explosive device (professional skills, degree of knowledge of the technology of manufacture and use of explosive devices, etc.); or the same design of an improvised explosive device, parts of which were found at the scene, and a model made by a citizen. The analysis of the main factors and causes of danger during storage and detonation of explosives is carried out. Innovative developments of technical means for forensic explosive and fire technical examinations are presented, which have important practical, economic and social significance and significantly reduce the risk factors for injuries or deaths of personnel. Recommendations for the design of explosives storage facilities are provided.

Principles for designing a computer application specific to explosion risk management in explosive deposits

Industrial explosive storage sites are considered to be areas of major risk to industrial, public and occupational safety and security, due to the possibility of major accidents, due to the nature of the explosive substances and due to the serious consequences of an explosion.on these sites. The explosion risk assessment for explosives depots requires an analysis of all possible occurrences of the initiating events that could lead to a potential explosion, followed by an analysis of security measures, all of which are quantified by the development of accident trees and sequences. for each possible trigger. This paper presents the principles of designing a specialized computer application in the field of explosion risk management at explosives depots for civilian use. This application allows to ensure the necessary premises for the elaboration, in objective and specific conditions, of the necessary documents for these types of technical infrastructures, from their design phase and the quantification of the degree of damage on the analyzed locations but also in the areas that are located.

Testing the constructive strength of a container arranged as a mobile deposit of explosive materials

Today, due to the diversity of the conditions in which the blasting works are executed, they often require a special organization regarding the transportation and storage of the explosive goods near the blasting field. If for explosive storage arranged for long-term use such as those of the producers, there are detailed regulations regarding the constructive and security requirements that they must meet, for the temporary storage facilities, there are not enough details regarding the constructive requirements that they must comply with. One of the most important aspects taken into account when designing and arranging a mobile explosive depot is the limitation to the maximum of the dynamic action and the throw effect of pieces of material under the pression of an accidental detonation. The paper describes the results obtained after testing a container prototype designed for the storage of explosives. Following the tests performed and the evaluation of the dynamic effects of explosions inside and outside the container as well as the analysis of the measurement regarding the pressure generated by the detonation of explosive charges, it turned out that the construction and detonation behavior of the tested container complies with the purpose and safety requirements for setting up a mobile explosive depot.

Environmental Impacts And Social Concerns - A Case Study Associated With Petroleum Exploration Activities From Onshore Baram Delta, NW Sarawak

The onshore Baram Delta, located in NW Sarawak is the birthplace of petroleum production in Malaysia. The Miri oilfield was first discovered in 1910 and subsequently abandoned in 1972 with intermittent exploration activities in the late 1980’s to early 1990’s. To rejuvenate exploration interest and to identify remaining hydrocarbon potential of the study area, in 2009-2010 JX Nippon acquired gravity, then regional 2D seismic data, followed-by exploration well drilling from 2011-2014. This paper discusses the social-environmental impacts and concerns associated with these petroleum exploration activities, from acquisition of seismic where explosives and vibroseis were used as a source of propagating signals, to exploration drilling with petroleum chemicals such as water-based muds used to facilitate the drilling operations. Overall, the inquiry addresses operational challenges, security of explosive storage and concern for handling explosives in the field, the social-environmental impacts of seismic acquisition operations, as well as removal of drilling fluid chemicals and disposal of contaminated cuttings. Containment procedures and mitigation measures undertaken to alleviate these social-environmental impacts are discussed according to the guidelines and regulatory requirements provided by the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), in conjunction with PETRONAS Procedures and Guidelines for Upstream Activities (PPGUA) and the company’s Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) Management System. In the final analysis, significant environmental and social challenges were certainly encountered while planning and conducting petroleum exploration activities in the study area. These challenges include problems related to topographic variabilities, permitting issues, compensations for affected lands and cash crops; layout constraints, drilling operations, well control measures for blowout prevention, traffic controls, potential damage to infra-structures, explosive and equipment transportation. However, with proper planning, effective communication with the local authorities, and awareness sessions conducted for the affected parties and stakeholders; together with the support of the local communities the operations have not only managed to mitigate these social and environmental concerns, the exploration activities also provided economic benefits such as hotel accommodation, logistics and transportation demands for local businesses, and short-term employment opportunities for the local people. Ultimately, the operations successfully acquired nearly 900-line km of seismic across many villages, longhouses, and in the city areas, with four exploration wells were drilled in the exploration block. We are glad to report that both seismic and drilling operations were conducted successfully and safely with minimal interruptions to people and environment, without untoward incidents or spills. With the mitigation measures in place, there were no damages other than land access, which were remediated, where incurred.

Storage Lifetime Prediction of Composite Solid Propellant based on Šesták‐Berggren Model

AbstractThe physical and chemical properties of composite solid propellant during storage period are greatly affected by environmental factors, and the aging mechanism is complicated. In view of the insufficient utilization of test data in the current research and the low accuracy of storage lifetime evaluation model, this paper takes composite solid propellant as the object and makes use of the destructive accelerated storage test data at different temperature levels to carry out storage lifetime prediction research from the perspective of thermal analysis kinetics. Taking the key mechanical performance parameter‐tensile strength as an example, a performance degradation model based on Šesták‐Berggren model (SB(m,n)) is established, and the optimal mechanism index (m,n) is determined according to the Akaike Information Criterion (AIC). Furthermore, the evaluation methods of storage reliability, storage reliable lifetimes and their lower confidence limits are given. Finally, take a certain type of composite solid propellant as an example to verify the model and method of the paper. The results show that the storage lifetime prediction method based on the SB(m,n) model is more accurate and the prediction results are more reliable. A good idea is provided to assess the storage lifetime of composite solid propellant, and it also provides reference for other propellant and explosive storage lifetime prediction.

Use of Quality Function Deployment for Gold Mining Feasibility Study (Case Study: Designing Explosive Storage Area)

In the mining industry, at the beginning of development of a project, a consultant is assigned to build a design feasibility study to incorporate the client requirement, government regulation, and other inputs into the design. The consultant usually faces overwhelmed stages due to changes caused by the client and other stakeholders and has to repeat the process of inputting requirements into the design, which will cause delays for the projects. To enhance this design process and improve the quality, the use of “ House of Quality (HoQ)” as part of Quality Function Deployment (QFD) was carried out. In this study it was attempted to improve the design of the Explosive Storage Area, which is the most complicated area where client expectations on the design are required, to meet the regulation. This study also aims to see how much time is saved during the design stages by using the HoQ. From the study, the technical importance rating of the containerized building showed the highest point (13%) followed by a radius between detonation and ammonium nitrate storage area (11%). The improvement design was developed and prioritized based on the rating from technical importance and the results of the design showed great satisfaction of the client. The duration of the design stage was also saved by almost 3 days of the normal design process without using QFD. This study showed the ability of QFD to enhance and assist during the design phase in the feasibility study, and resulted in great client satisfaction for the final product.

Review of Safety Requirements Regarding Trading and Storing of Pyrotechnical Articles in Poland

Aim: The objective of the paper was to identify and analyse relevant requirements regarding the safety of storage and usage of pyrotechnic materials, intended for civil use. The review was based on binding applicable Polish and European legal acts. The results of the review pointed to the ambiguity of the provisions regulating the issues of safe usage and storage of pyrotechnical materials. Introduction: Some pyrotechnic articles, when triggered by a proper impulse, can lead to a violent reaction resulting in the release of a large amount of heat, and the creation of a blast wave. The effects of this reaction have a destructive impact on buildings situated nearby and pose a hazard to human life. Use and storage of pyrotechnic articles against the set rules is associated with the risk of fire or explosion, therefore a number of requirements have been introduced in this area. Methodology: In Poland there are many legal acts applicable to explosives. One of the most important one is the Act of 21 June 2002 on explosives designated for civil use, which presents pyrotechnic materials with respect to the safety of their usage and storage. Several key requirements have also been specified in agreements ratified in Poland and in other international acts, such as for example: the European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road(ADR), and the Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council 2013/29/EU of 12 June 2013 on the harmonisation of laws of the Member States relating to the making available on the market of pyrotechnic articles. Results: It was established that there is a need of adopting a legal solution for storing pyrotechnical products for temporary sales in containers located near commercial facilities (and serving as back-up facilities). Although the regulations are not clear-cut, such a solution is used in practice, thus it would be advisable to determine by means of legal acts whether it is permissible and what requirements should be fulfilled, for example by a container, in which pyrotechnic articles are temporarily stored. Conclusions: The specification presented in the article allows to see the need to minimize the hazards associated with the marketing of pyrotechnical materials and justifies the necessity of adopting a particularly diligent classification and use of nomenclature for these products. In case of storing pyrotechnical materials, it is erroneous to adopt the determination of class “G” for two variable of net mass values of the explosive (when determining safe distances for explosive storage facilities, including among others class 1, sub-classes 1.3, 1.4). The same applies to the hexogen equivalent of an explosive load (when determining safe distances for explosive storage facilities including class 1, sub-classes 1.1, 1.5 and 4.1). Such provisions are misleading and may cause erroneous interpretations of regulations.

The dynamic stocking location problem – Dispersing inventory in fulfillment warehouses with explosive storage

Online order fulfillment warehouses (F-Warehouses) are a critical component of the physical internet. F-Warehouses convert online customer orders into physical delivery packages with an operational goal of fast fulfillment. Structurally F-Warehouses are unlike traditional warehouses and key differentiators are, a very large number of small bin locations, an explosive storage policy, and commingled bin storage. In explosive storage, an incoming bulk is separated into small lots which can be stocked in any bin throughout the warehouse. As orders flow in, this inventory dispersion increases the probability that a picker can locate multiple ordered items within a short distance. The dynamic stocking decision then is, where to stock the arriving inventory lots, such that picking algorithms can generate more efficient picklists and achieve the fast fulfillment goal. The paper presents first, an objective function for the dynamic stocking location problem and then formulates it as a mixed-integer program. The objective is a function of the weighted order fillability of each bin and models’ item-to-item order correlations. Two heuristics that solve the problem in a time-efficient manner are developed. Both heuristics performed well, with one providing a solution within 10% of the MIP solution 82% of the time. Using a database driven simulator, experimental runs were conducted on a problem with 22,000 orders. The results show the proposed stocking objective and associated heuristic reduced fulfillment time by 6.69%–11.19% relative to a segmented random rule. Performance improved by as much as 3.4% when the stocking bandwidth was increased from 20 to 40, while fulfillment time declined consistently with an increasing explosion ratio.

Delay Reduction Through Optimal Controller Placement to Boost Scalability in an SDDC

Software-defined storage (SDS) is an abrupt technology that aims to address the explosive data proliferation and storage management complexity through the separation of control and data path, which are tightly bounded in the traditional storage area network (SAN) model. In SDS, the centralized controller manages and controls the overall storage services and operations. However, the centralized controller approach raises the scalability and single point of failure flag. In such a paradigm, the controller placement is an important activity. A random placement of controllers suffers from unpredictable delay in a large enterprise. Multiple SDS controllers mitigate the single point of failure and provide redundancy. We propose a method called controller placement based on the center of gravity (CPCG) to solve the optimal placement controllers’ locations to reduce the delay. CPCG incorporates different coordinates and analyzes their density (the number of attached devices to a switch) to suggest new optimal sites. For the least number of SDS controllers, we propose an areawise optimal placement location strategy; the areawise approach mitigates workload processing from the central controller and also provides a scalable and reliable storage system. Experiments show that the optimal placement drastically reduces delay and, hence, boosts scalability.

Analysis of ground vibration risk on mine infrastructures: integrating fuzzy slack-based measure model and failure effects analysis

Blasting operation is the main unit of ore production in open-pit mining cycle. Detonation energy is mostly released as ground vibration using Rayleigh waves that extensively damage nearby infrastructures within or outside of a mining area. This work introduces a new hybrid approach based on the integration of fuzzy failure mode and effects analysis with the fuzzy slack-based measure model form of data envelopment analysis; this approach prioritizes and analyzes ground vibration risks on open-pit infrastructures. The approach uses a special risk prioritization algorithm by failure mode and effects analysis and data envelopment analysis under fuzzy conditions. In the fuzzy slack-based measure part of the approach, α-level cut method is used to prepare the necessary data. An open-pit copper mine is exemplified to present the approach in detail and analyze ground vibration risk. Potential failure modes, consist of infrastructures and blasting sources, are specified on the map on the mine area. Results indicate that blasting at the point of 3 imposes the highest ground vibration risk on the industrial site located within the final pit limits. The failure modes of water treatment site, crusher, gas station, explosive storage, switchgear, thickener site, power station, and processing plant have other priorities.

Design and Validation of Blast Non-propagation Wall for Multi-Compartmented Explosive Storage Structure of Capacity 5T NEC per Compartment

Conventional magazines for hazard division 1.1 are constructed using bricks and reinforced cement concrete (RCC) for which storage inside quantity distance (SIQD) is 2.4 W1/3 m, where W is Net Explosive Content in kg. New composite called laced reinforced concrete (LRC) has been developed recently, for which SIQD has been reduced up to 0.5 W1/3 m. Due to substantial reduction in separation distances, the requirement of land area has been reduced significantly. Although SIQD has been reduced drastically due to development of new composite, the other quantity distances like process inside quantity distance (PIQD) and outside quantity distance (OQD) decreased marginally. To reduce these quantity distances, the solution is multi-compartmented structures based on Unit Risk Principle. The application of unit risk principle enables the separation of explosives into compartments in such a manner that initiation of explosives in one compartment does not result in initiation of the explosives in adjacent compartments. This is achieved by special design of explosive storage buildings incorporating blast non-propagation walls between adjacent compartments storing explosives. Quantity distances are reduced for such magazines, as maximum credible limit corresponds to the quantity of explosive in one compartment. Present paper describes design and full scale testing of blast non-propagation wall between two compartments of a multi-compartmented explosive storage structure with storage capacity of 5 T Net Explosive Content (NEC) of HD 1.1 per compartment. The blast non-propagation wall comprising of sand filling and air gap between LRC walls has been designed for desired attenuation of blast parameters as well as for arresting high velocity fragments/debris. The design has been validated by fully instrumented design validation field trial. The conduct of the trial as well as the results are discussed in this paper.

Product flows and decision models in Internet fulfillment warehouses

Internet Fulfillment Warehouses (IFWs) present a new operational model in the design and control of warehouses. IFWs operate with new paradigms, specifically, the use of an explosive storage policy combined with commingled storage are key features in achieving fast fulfillment. We document and present the process, data, and decision flows of IFW operations. The flows were synthesised from an observational study at the largest IFW operator. Detailed flows are presented for: (i) receiving and stocking (ii) order picking and consolidation and (iii) truck assignment and loading. The key contribution of this paper is introducing new warehousing models that are unique to fulfillment facilities which stock thousands of different products and process a very large number of small quantity customer orders. Multiple flow control and decision optimisation problems can be formulated from the operational models. Five specific problems are introduced, each focuses on the online retailing objective of fast fulfillment.

Study on Safety Management of Explosive Storage Room Based on Fault Tree

In this paper, the safety deposit was carried out by using the accident tree method. Based on the conclusion of the evaluation and the characteristics of the explosive, a set of measures for the safe management of the explosive storage chamber was developed, which could be used for the safety management of the explosive storage chamber. The storage and management of explosives.

Blast Wave Mitigation from the Straight Tube by Using Water Part I - Small Scale Experiment

A subsurface magazine has an explosive storage chamber, a horizontal passageway, and a vertical shaft for vent. It was proposed and legislated in Japan. The authors found that small amount of water on the floor of its storage chamber mitigated the blast pressure remarkably. The mechanism of the mitigation has been studied, however, it is not still well understood. In this study, the explosion in a transparent, square cross section, and straight tube was carried out to examine the mechanism of blast-wave mitigation by water. The arrangement and amount of water in the tube were varied for five ways. The dependence of mitigation effect on the arrangement and amount of water was evaluated by measuring the blast pressures in the tube and outside the tube. The results of this study concluded that the mitigation of blast wave by water is mainly due to the interaction between the explosion and the water very near the explosion point. On the contrary, the water at other part of the tube was found to strengthen the blast pressure.

Modelling and performance evaluation of explosive storage policies in internet fulfilment warehouses

Internet Fulfilment Warehouses (IFWs) are designed to exclusively process online retail orders. An observational study reveals that IFW operating and design attributes are significantly different from traditional warehouses in their storage and fulfilment policies. Specifically, we identify six IFW differentiators: explosive storage, very large number of beehive storage locations, bins with commingled SKUs, immediate fulfilment, short picking routes with single unit picks and high transactions with total digital control. Explosive storage of incoming bulk allows for faster fulfilment of customer orders often within a few hours. A new IFW control model is developed. This describes the associated receiving and fulfilment flows. Two decision algorithms for generating (i) a stocking list and (ii) an order picking list are presented. A simulation model was built to evaluate the fulfilment performance of the explosive policy. Experimental runs on a problem with 400 SKUs, 3240 bins and 22,000 customer orders over nine days are reported. Results show that increasing levels of explosion reduce the linear fulfilment time by as much as 16%, confirming the IFW storage policy is advantageous. The results also show that fulfilment time behaviour is convex as a function of the maximum number of stops allowed by the picking algorithm parameter.