Wind tunnel modeling of toxic gas releases at industrial facilities
- Cermak Peterka Petersen, Inc., Fort Collins, CO (United States)
Government agencies and the petroleum, chemical and gas industries in the US and abroad have become increasingly concerned about the issues of toxic gas dispersal. Because of this concern, research programs have been sponsored by these various groups to improve the capabilities in hazard mitigation and response. Present computer models used to predict pollutant concentrations at industrial facilities do not properly account for the effects of structures. Structures can act to trap or deflect the cloud and modify the cloud dimensions, thereby possibly increasing or reducing downwind concentrations. The main purpose of this evaluation was to develop a hybrid modeling approach, which combines wind tunnel and dispersion modeling, to obtain more accurate concentration estimates when buildings or structures affect the dispersion of hazardous chemical vapors. To meet the study objectives, wind tunnel testing was performed on a building cluster typical of two industrial settings where accidental releases of toxic gases might occur. This data set was used to test the validity of the AFTOX and SLAB models for estimating concentrations and was used to develop and test two hybrid models. Two accident scenarios were simulated, an evaporating pool of a gas slightly heavier than air (Hydrazine-N{sub 2}H{sub 4}) and a liquid jet release of Nitrogen Tetroxide (N{sub 2}O{sub 4}) where dense gas dispersion effects would be significant. Tests were conducted for a range of wind directions and wind speeds for two different building configurations (low rise and high rise structures).
- OSTI ID:
- 28745
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-940115-; TRN: 95:002816-0036
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 8. Joint conference on applications of air pollution meterology. 74. American Meteorological Society annual meeting, Nashville, TN (United States), 23-28 Jan 1994; Other Information: PBD: 1994; Related Information: Is Part Of Eighth joint conference on applications of air pollution meteorology with A & WMA; PB: 359 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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