Toward safer chemical plants via optimal fire protection and firefighting

通过最佳的消防和消防措施，打造更安全的化工厂

• 批准号: RGPIN-2021-03051
• 负责人: Khakzad, Nima
• 金额: $ 2.26万
• 依托单位: Ryerson University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2022-01-01 至 2023-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=761562
• 关键词: Toward; safer; chemical; plants; via

Chemical industry is one of the main industries in Canada, contributing billions to the country's GDP. Chemical and process plants, as the main infrastructure of the chemical industry, are attributed with large quantities of flammable and explosive chemicals which could result in catastrophic fires and explosions. The ever-growing interface between the chemical industrial areas and residential communities (e.g., Chemical Valley, Sarnia, Ontario) can make the consequences of such fires and explosions even more catastrophic by impacting the nearby communities. Fire safety in chemical plants is aimed at "preventing" the occurrence of fires and "mitigating" the consequences should fires occur. Fire prevention is usually accomplished via elimination and control of ignition sources, safe storage of flammable chemicals, etc. Fire mitigation, on the other hand, relies on fire protection systems (e.g., sprinklers), firefighting and evacuation. Not all fires can be prevented. Thus, fire protection measures play a crucial role in reducing the risk of potential fires. Due to the limited resources, however, effective fire protection of chemical plants demands for decision support methodologies to enable cost-effective integration of fire protection systems, firefighting strategies, and evacuation plans while considering the resources and the risks. The developed methodologies should be dynamic and flexible enough to catch up with the spatial and temporal evolution of fire scenarios under varying operational and environmental conditions. The present research is part of a holistic research program with the aim of promoting safety in the chemical industry. The research will include the development of methodologies for modeling and assessing the risk of major fire scenarios. Further, decision support methodologies will be developed for optimal allocation and management of fire protection systems as well as effective firefighting and evacuation during major fire events. The research will consider not only the accidental fire scenarios but also the ones triggered by natural disasters (e.g., wildfire) and malicious events (e.g., terrorist attacks). A particular attention will be devoted to chemical industrial areas where neighbor chemical plants can invest in coordinated and collaborative plans (e.g., joint firefighting) to optimally share their collective resources in the event of single and multiple fires. The outcomes of the research are expected to increase our knowledge of fire risk assessment and management in the chemical plants and help safety managers, emergency response planners, and fire services to cope more effectively with major fires. The developed methodologies, if integrated in the design and development of chemical plants, are expected to result in more inherently fire-protected plants, enhancing the safety of personnel, firefighters, and the public.

化学工业是加拿大的主要产业之一，为该国GDP贡献了数十亿美元。化工厂和加工厂作为化学工业的主要基础设施，含有大量易燃易爆的化学品，可能导致灾难性的火灾和爆炸。化学工业区和居民区(例如安大略省萨尼亚的化学谷)之间不断增长的界面可能会影响到附近的社区，从而使此类火灾和爆炸的后果更加灾难性。化工厂的消防安全旨在“预防”火灾的发生，并“减轻”一旦发生火灾的后果。防火通常是通过消除和控制点火源、安全储存易燃化学品等来实现的。另一方面，火灾缓解依赖于消防系统(如喷头)、灭火和疏散。并不是所有的火灾都可以预防。因此，防火措施在降低潜在火灾风险方面发挥着至关重要的作用。然而，由于资源有限，有效的化工厂消防需要决策支持方法，以便在考虑资源和风险的同时，能够经济有效地集成消防系统、消防策略和疏散计划。所制定的方法应具有足够的动态和灵活性，以赶上在不同作业和环境条件下火灾情景的空间和时间演变。本研究是旨在促进化学工业安全的整体研究计划的一部分。这项研究将包括开发用于模拟和评估重大火灾情景的风险的方法。此外，将制定决策支持方法，以优化消防系统的分配和管理，并在重大火灾事件期间进行有效的灭火和疏散。研究不仅将考虑意外火灾情景，还将考虑由自然灾害(例如野火)和恶意事件(例如恐怖袭击)引发的火灾情景。将特别关注化学工业区，在这些地区，邻近的化工厂可以投资于协调和协作计划(例如，联合灭火)，以便在发生一次和多次火灾时以最佳方式分享其集体资源。预计研究结果将增加我们对化工厂火灾风险评估和管理的了解，并帮助安全经理、应急规划者和消防部门更有效地应对重大火灾。如果将开发的方法整合到化工厂的设计和开发中，预计将产生更本质的防火工厂，提高人员、消防员和公众的安全。