Dynamic structural response characteristics of new concept blast walls under hydrocarbon explosions

Abstract Offshore installations activities entail the hazard of explosion accidents with potentially severe consequences to safety of workers, integrity of system, pollution of the environment, and economic losses. Blast walls are generally used for the purpose of reducing the explosion consequences. This study introduce a new concept of blast wall (perforated blast wall) which can disrupt loaindg pressure during the explosion. A dynamic finite element analysis was performed to investigate the effects of the geometric characteristics on the performance of perforated blast walls. A series of computations were performed varying with opening size, plate thickness and opening layout associated with Blockage Ratio. A proposal formula was derived as a function of those design parameters for easily expecting the dynamic structural response characteristics.