Case study - Smoke, Gas and Plume Dispersion
Quantifying risk and operability for
offshore design
Client
THE CHALLENGE
Various
The orientation and layout of equipment can profoundly influence the operability and safety of
an offshore platform. Ensuring safe operation is paramount and quantifying risks at the
Business need
design phase is a key step in achieving this.
Demonstrating the safe operation
Dispersion modelling is a means of quantifying the interaction of concentrated sources with
of an offshore asset, requires
prevailing winds around an asset. The wind acts to dilute and disperse smoke, gas and hot
quantifying the risk associated with
exhaust plumes which can either increase safety or drastically diminish it. The challenge lies
fire, smoke, hydrocarbon gas and
in designing assets that utilise wind dispersion to increase safe operation. To this end, we
hot plume dispersion for a given
perform dispersion modelling to aid safe helicopter and cranes operation around hot gas
design.
turbine exhaust plumes, detection of hydrocarbon leaks prior to ignition and design of safe
escape routes and secure refuges in the event of fire.
Why Frazer-Nash?
Frazer-Nash has extensive
OUR INVOLVEMENT
experience in dispersion modelling
We perform both near and far-field dispersion predictions to evaluate the safe operation of
on offshore assets. We are
asset designs using Quantitative Risk Assessments (QRA) and safety cases. Building on our
members of HSE steering groups
knowledge of far-field Atmospheric Dispersion Modelling (ADM) techniques that account for
into gas dispersion modelling and
meteorological conditions and thermal properties of plumes we use Computational Fluid
Dynamics (CFD) to predict dispersion around congested offshore assets. This technique
understand all aspects that are
required for a suitable design.
produces detailed models of decks and equipment that enable development teams to
quantify temperatures, toxicity and visibility levels and any location.
We have worked closely with EPCs and Operators to produce safe designs and safety cases
for fixed jackets, floating platforms and FPSOs.
ADDED VALUE
At Frazer-Nash we provide our clients with the added value and insight from our wide ranging
expertise and experience. This enables safe designs to evolve quicker and ranges from blast
and explosions modelling, blast resistant design, fire modelling and detailed mechanical
design.
Figure 1: Hydrocarbon gas dispersion
modelling on an FPSO.
For more information, please contact
[email protected]
or visit www.fnc.co.uk
Figure 2: Hydrocarbon gas dispersion at an
onshore terminal.
www.fnc.co.uk
Offices throughout the UK and Australia
Copyright© Frazer-Nash Consultancy Ltd 2012 v1
Figure 3: Fire modelling on an offshore
platform.