Version 1
: Received: 30 March 2021 / Approved: 31 March 2021 / Online: 31 March 2021 (10:11:28 CEST)
How to cite:
Tan, F.; Tam, V.H.Y.; Middleton, D. A review of Application of Integral Atmospheric Jet Dispersion Model to Flammable Hazards – Is Hazard Distance at 0.5 LFL Conservative?. Preprints2021, 2021030756 (doi: 10.20944/preprints202103.0756.v1).
Tan, F.; Tam, V.H.Y.; Middleton, D. A review of Application of Integral Atmospheric Jet Dispersion Model to Flammable Hazards – Is Hazard Distance at 0.5 LFL Conservative?. Preprints 2021, 2021030756 (doi: 10.20944/preprints202103.0756.v1).
Cite as:
Tan, F.; Tam, V.H.Y.; Middleton, D. A review of Application of Integral Atmospheric Jet Dispersion Model to Flammable Hazards – Is Hazard Distance at 0.5 LFL Conservative?. Preprints2021, 2021030756 (doi: 10.20944/preprints202103.0756.v1).
Tan, F.; Tam, V.H.Y.; Middleton, D. A review of Application of Integral Atmospheric Jet Dispersion Model to Flammable Hazards – Is Hazard Distance at 0.5 LFL Conservative?. Preprints 2021, 2021030756 (doi: 10.20944/preprints202103.0756.v1).
Abstract
Integral atmospheric dispersion models are used widely for flammable hazard and its risk analysis. There is a widespread belief that flammable distances from these models are conservative when flammable ranges are calculated using the 0.5 lower flammability limits (LFL) concentration threshold. This is erroneous. This paper traces through the development of these models and the research that led to the Birch Guidance. It shows that the 0.5 LFL is a necessary factor to transform the results of dispersion models designed for environmental assessment to applications to flammable hazard assessment in quiescent conditions. Current applications do not take account of turbulence due to wind, large and small obstructions, etc. A set of simple guidance is given in the paper to manage flammable hazards based on results from atmospheric dispersion models, including topics for future research.
Subject Areas
Atmospheric Dispersion; Integral Model; Flammable Hazards; Flammable distances
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.