vapor cloud explosions: mitigation of consequences

The oil and gas industry operates installations and processes with important quantities of flammable substances within a wide range of pressures and temperatures. A particular hazard for this type of installations is an accidental release of a large quantity of flammable material resulting in the formation of a flammable cloud within the installation. Upon ignition, such a cloud may lead to an explosion producing shockwaves with enough energy to cause substantial damage to people and assets. Such accidents are commonly named ＂Vapor Cloud Explosions＂. This book gives insight in the phenomena involved in Vapor Cloud Explosions and proposes strategies for their prevention and mitigation.

Pol Hoorelbeke and Dirk Roosendans, TOTAL S.A., France; Marc Van Overmeire, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium.