An Assessment Capability for LNG Leaks in Complex Environments

Pollutants may be introduced into urban or marine settings by various means and could result in an adverse impact to public safety and the environment. Therefore, it is important for emergency management personnel to understand the potential risks and physical extents of a leaked substance, whether it is toxic, flammable or explosive. Traditional tools for predicting the atmospheric dispersion of leaked substances are quick and simple to use, but may not adequately consider the effects of the built environment that includes complex urban and terrain geometries. Alternatively, CFD methods have been increasing in application; although, their superior accuracy is met with commensurate manual effort. The All Hazards Planner is a fast, accurate gas dispersion modelling tool for city and port environments, which employs a full-physics CFD approach but automates the intensive manual effort. In this work, a credible LNG leak from a 12-mm-diameter hole is modelled for two hypothetical case studies: adjacent to an LNG tanker and between a cruise ship and pier during bunkering. The LNG vapour flammability extents are compared to an empirical model in the absence of geometry effects and are contrasted with geometry effects to highlight the importance of the real environment. The free-field extents are invariant, whereas the inclusion of geometry is shown to reduce the flammability extents by spreading at the ground-level and forcing the plume upwards.