Consequence analysis by means of characteristic curves to determine the damage to humans from bursting spherical vessels

This paper aims at presenting a methodology to perform consequence analysis produced by pressure waves from spherical vessel burst. To carry out this operation characteristic curves are used. These characteristic curves for spherical vessel burst were presented in a previous paper [González Ferradás, E., Diaz Alonso, F., Sanchez Perez, J.F., Miñana Aznar, A., Ruiz Gimeno, J. and Martinez Alonso, J., 2006. Characteristic overpressure–impulse–distance curves for vessel burst, Process Safety Progress, 25(3): 250–254]. They allow the overpressure and impulse to be determined at each distance from the vessel. When combined with damage criteria (such as those shown by the PROBIT equations), the characteristic curves allow consequence analysis for this kind of explosions to be carried out, as the damage is shown in the same diagram as the overpressure, impulse and distance. In this paper the main PROBIT equations to evaluate damage to humans from pressure waves (which include eardrum rupture, death due to skull fracture, death due to whole body impact and lung damage) are evaluated and the most suitable PROBIT equations are selected. Diagrams are presented and equations are also developed for using this methodology in a computer program or spread sheet calculations.