Simulating blast of explosive material inside ship container for QRA Study

Presented at: ISOPE-PACOMS (International Society of Offshore and Polar Engineers - Pacific Asia Offshore Mechanics Symposium)

Authors: Adarsh Ranjan, Sachin S Awasare, Sudarshan Daga, Sharad Dhavalikar

Date of Presentation: 13-16 October, 2024

Handling containers with explosive cargo at the port carries a risk of explosion. The resulting fatalities depend on the blast pressure and its reach. Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA) evaluates fatality probabilities based on estimated blast pressure. This paper presents a case study of an explosion in a 20 feet ISO container carrying IMDG Class I cargo. Simplistic solutions using analytical shock pulse generation and propagation were employed with explicit solver, where Friedlander equation and experimental models were characterized as blast wave loads. Simulated overpressures and empirical overpressures showed good agreement. The study provides critical input for the estimation of effective risk assessment and safety protocols in hazardous materials transport.