Accounting for channeling and shielding effects for vapor cloud explosions

These simplified tools assume an unobstructed line-of-site condition, which can overestimate and/or underestimate blast loads. This paper illustrates the use of a fast-running Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) approach that can account for channeling and shielding effects without having to use a turbulent combustion model. This approach provides a convenient tool for designers and process safety planners to more accurately quantify the hazard from postulated VCE hazards that include site-specific channeling and shielding effects. The accuracy of the approach is demonstrated via comparisons of CFD simulations to experimentally measured waveforms. Computed pressure and impulse are also compared to the BST predictions for unobstructed and obstructed sites.