• Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering
• /
• v.21 no.12
• /
• pp.703-714
• /
• 2009

One of the biggest problems in smoke control systems for high-rise buildings is stack effect, but there are no recognized methods or measures to solve the problem of stack effect as yet. The stack effect can be overcome by forming the uprising current inside the stair hall properly, but there is a limit to the height in supplying into the stair hall the smoke control air volume to be supplied to a floor in case of escape from fire. The limit to the height can be extended by over-coming the stack effect by pressurizing the stair hall and the ancillary room simultaneously. It can also be anticipated that the stack effect can be overcome by connecting the air supply shaft to the stair hall at the top. As a result of computer simulations using a network type of tool, it is found that adequate performance can be achieved by pressurizing the stair hall only for a building of 190m or less, and up to 360m when pressurizing the stair hall and the ancillary room simultaneously. In all those cases, however, an overpressure venting damper is required which operates within a suitable range for venting the overpressure outside.

• Safety and Health at Work
• /
• v.7 no.2
• /
• pp.130-137
• /
• 2016

At a brewery, the base plate-to-shell weld seam of a $90-m^3$ vertical cylindrical steel tank failed catastrophically. The 4 ton tank "took off" like a rocket leaving its contents behind, and landed on a van, crushing it. The top of the tank reached a height of 30 m. The internal overpressure responsible for the failure was an estimated 60 kPa. A rupture disc rated at < 50 kPa provided overpressure protection and thus prevented the tank from being covered by the European Pressure Equipment Directive. This safeguard failed and it was later discovered that the rupture disc had been installed upside down. The organizational root cause of this incident may be a fundamental lack of appreciation of the hazards of large volumes of low-pressure compressed air or gas. A contributing factor may be that the standard piping and instrumentation diagram (P&ID) symbol for a rupture disc may confuse and lead to incorrect installation. Compressed air systems are ubiquitous. The medium is not toxic or flammable. Such systems however, when operated at "slight overpressure" can store a great deal of energy and thus constitute a hazard that ought to be addressed by safety managers.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.36 no.2
• /
• pp.115-124
• /
• 2022

There are many different types of tanks on ships that meet various requirements. Each tank is required to undergo hydrostatic testing according to the Ship Safety Act after being installed onboard. In some hydrostatic tests, excessive deformation may occur. The overpressure of the air in the tank generated during testing is one of the possible causes of deformation. Based on the dimensions of the tank, nozzle, and pipes installed, it was confirmed that the overpressure of the air can cause problems with the structure, according to the Bernoulli equation. Additionally, finite element analysis (FEA) was performed on the tank structure to confirm the deformation and the stress occurring in the structure. From the perspective of deformation, the maximum deflection limit was set based on the criteria provided by the Eurocode and DNV. From the perspective of stress, the structural safety assessment was performed by comparing the allowable stress and equivalent stress generated in the structure. To determine whether the behavior of the actual structure was well implemented via FEA, beam theory was applied to the tank structure and compared with the FEA results. As a result of the analysis, severe deformation was found in some cases. This means that the overpressure of the air may be the cause of actual deformation. It was also confirmed that permanent deformation may occur.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
• /
• v.37 no.4
• /
• pp.92-100
• /
• 2022

Of the Korean military's 3,959 ammunition depots, 1,007 - more than 25% - violate safety requirements for distance and equipment. There is a risk of explosion in old depots that are vulnerable to various interior and exterior accidents. This paper examines 10 scenarios, with varying values for ammunition amount and safety distance. The study calculated the overpressure that can be applied to risk-exposure objects, based on the safety distance; expected damage was predicted using constructed spatial information from 3D explosion simulations. The simulations confirmed that explosion overpressure increased the most when the safety distance violation rate increased from 80% to 90%. It also confirmed that secondary damage such as fire and explosion can cause casualties and property damage when the violation rate is 60% or higher. The results show that building collapse becomes a risk with a violation rate of 70% or higher. We conclude that taking ammunition depot safety distance violation into account when planning military facilities and their land utilization could better protect life and property.

• Journal of Korean Association for Spatial Structures
• /
• v.23 no.1
• /
• pp.25-34
• /
• 2023

This paper presents a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis to investiagate the effect of expansion chamber on overpressure reduction in protective tunnels subjected to detonation of high explosives. A commercial CFD code, Viper::Blast, was used to model the blast waves in a protective tunnel with a length of 160 m, width of 8.9 m and height of 7.2 m. Blast scenarios and simulation matrix were establihsed in consideration of the design parameters of expansion chamber, including the chamber lengths of 6.1 m to 12.1 m, widths of 10.7 m to 97 m, length to width ratios of 0.0 to 5.0, heights of 8.0 m and 14.9 m, and ratios of chamber to tunnel width of 1.2 to 10.9 m. A charge weight of TNT of 1000 kg was used. The mesh sizes of the numerical model of the protective tunnel were determined based on a mesh convergence study. A parametric study based on the simulation matrix was performed using the proposed CFD tunnel model and the optimized shape of expansion chamber of the considered tunnel was then proposed based on the numerical results. Design recommendations for the use of expansion chamber in protective tunnel under blast loads to reduce the internal overpressures were finally provided.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
• /
• v.27 no.4
• /
• pp.56-61
• /
• 2023

The plant is an important facility as a infrastructure, and ensuring safety against possible accidents such as gas leaks and explosions must be considered in the design. However, there is little study on explosion pressure in plants for reasons such as economic feasibility, and overpressure data on this field is insufficient. In this study, an experimental design plan considering the explosion scenario that may occur in the plant was presented, and the explosion pressure was confirmed through an explosion experiment. Hydrogen-methane mixed gas was used as a combustible material, and the effect of confinement and congestion on overpressure was studied. The effect of overlapping pressure waves during deflagration and the turbulence effect by congested pipes are discussed. The results of this study can be used as input data in various safety designs.

• Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
• /
• v.26 no.1
• /
• pp.15-24
• /
• 2024

The purpose of this study is to improve the stack effect of the staircase and the failure to take into account the opening of the outside door of the staircase, which are the disadvantages of the existing smoke control only vestibule. As a result of the study, the new vestibule and the staircase simultaneous smoke control are equipped with an exhaust flap damper with an effective opening area of about 0.25 m² in the upper part of the staircase, and a ventilator-type air supply fan of about 5 m³/s in the lower part, and take measures to prevent overpressure in the staircase. If you use the new simultaneous smoke control method of the vestibule and staircase, you can achieve the following effects. First, it is possible to open the external entrance door. Second, it can reduce the stack effect. Third, the staircase door closes automatically without fail. And a new method of preventing overpressure was proposed for the vestibule.

• Industry Promotion Research
• /
• v.9 no.2
• /
• pp.37-44
• /
• 2024

This study selected the worst-case scenario for fireball and vapor cloud explosion (VCE) of a styrene monomer storage tank installed in a petrochemical production plant and performed damage prediction and accident impact analysis. The range of influence of radiant heat and overpressure due to fireball and vapor VCE during the abnormal polymerization reaction of styrene monomer, the main component of the mixed residue oil storage tank, was quantitatively analyzed by applying the e-CA accident damage prediction program. The damage impact areas of radiant heat and explosion overpressure are analyzed to have a maximum radius of 1,150m and 626m, respectively. People within 1,150m of radiant heat of 4kW/m2 may have their skin swell when exposed to it for 20 seconds. In buildings within 626m, where an explosion overpressure of 21kPa is applied, steel structures may be damaged and separated from the foundation, and people may suffer physical injuries. In the event of a fire, explosion or leak, determine the risk standards such as the degree of risk and acceptability to workers in the work place, nearby residents, or surrounding facilities due to radiant heat or overpressure, identify the hazards and risks of the materials handled, and establish an emergency response system. It is expected that it will be helpful in establishing measures to minimize damage to workplaces through improvement and investment activities.

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
• /
• 2003.05a
• /
• pp.130-130
• /
• 2003

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
• /
• 2003.10a
• /
• pp.151-151
• /
• 2003