PHAST 6 5 1 Tutorial

PHAST Applications
the right tool for safety professional
Leading consequence analysis tool

PHAST is the world's leading consequence analysis tool, used by governments and industry in
over sixty countries across the globe.
PHAST is a comprehensive hazard analysis software

tool which is applicable to all stages of design and operation across a wide range of process industries.
Industries currently using PHAST include:
Oil and gas industries
Petrochemical companies
Chemical manufacturers
Government and regulatory authorities
Consultancy and design services
Insurance companies
Universities
PHAST is one of a range of products developed by
DNV Software, recognized leaders in the field of major
industrial accident hazard assessment. As a result it has
been adopted by many international companies and
governments as a decision support tool in industrial
risk and public safety matters. PHAST is used to identify situations which have the potential for causing
unacceptable consequences to population and the
environment. Such scenarios may be minimized by
review of the design, process, plant layout or operational procedures. Those scenarios which remain can
then be further scrutinized in a quantitative risk assessment (QRA).
Using PHAST as a Design Tool

Key safety issues can be addressed in the conceptual
stages which would otherwise give rise to costly alterations at final design. PHAST opens up the opportunity
for an engineer to analyze a design for hazards at an
early stage to gain some benefits, which include but are
not limited to:
Reduction of costs related to post-design
modifications
Increase in identification of hazards
Reduction of costs related to operational QRAs
Optimization of plant and process design
With PHAST various scenarios continuous, as well as
time varying and instantaneous can be modelled
while in this stage in order to refine the design. Some
of the available scenarios include leaks, line ruptures,
tank roof collapse and long pipeline releases in pressurized and un-pressurized vessels/pipes. Some of the
applications that have been modeled within various
industries are:
Flare sizing
Environmental impact analysis
Equipment sizing
Using independently validated models

PHAST is centred on DNV Software's proprietary Unified Dispersion Model (UDM) which has been
independently validated and verified. The UDM is the only software in the world to completely
model all stages of a dispersing plume.
Using PHAST as a Plant Siting Tool
Using PHAST as an Operational Tool
The location and layout of the plant influences profitability and growth as any other aspect of the project.
Therefore, this must be carefully examined. Various
benefits can be achieved at this stage by using PHAST,
including:
Reduction in construction and manufacturing costs
Improvement of engineers understanding of potential hazards
Increase in population safety
Flexibility for growth
Once a process is in place, it is vital that the proper

safety precautions are taken and that risk management
remains a priority. Some of the benefits PHAST brings
during this stage include:
Quicker response to hazardous incidents
Increased understanding of the impact of process
and equipment changes
Reduction of costs related to losses and insurance
By using PHASTs Unified Dispersion Model (UDM)

distances to hazardous concentrations of interest can
be obtained as well as the cloud behaviour as it transitions through the various stages turbulent jets, buoyant gases, dense plumes and passive clouds.
Additionally, the UDM considers droplet formation
and pool re-evaporation. Multi-phase and multi-component modelling as well as indoor releases and toxic
and flammable (fires, BLEVES, flash fires, vapor cloud
explosions) effects can also be modelled within
PHAST. Within the siting and layout stage PHAST has
been used for many important decisions, including:
Building placement
Construction material
Roads and railroad placement
Space requirement
Tank farm locations
The variety of release scenarios available as well as the

application of the UDM allow for numerous combinations of scenarios. PHAST also facilitates the direct
modelling of flammable scenarios if the data is available. Some of these direct models include jet fires, pool
fires, flash fires, explosions and BLEVEs. Once the scenarios are modelled, it is possible to consider possible
mitigation measures. Some applications of PHAST as
an operational tool include:
Emergency planning and response
Process/equipment/material changes
Forensic investigations
Risk mitigation plans
Offering a complete solution

PHAST is available in three configurations, depending on your needs. It is also
links to SAFETI for full risk analyses.
PHAST as a Compliance Tool

In addition to complying with legislative mandates and
reporting to the corresponding agencies, general practice calls for companies to self-regulate. This means
they must conduct operations in a way that protects the
health, safety and welfare of their employees and third
party personnel, including visitors and the surrounding population. The benefits associated with using
PHAST for compliance and self-regulation drive
PHASTs wide use and recognition within the industry.
PHAST has been used to comply with many regulations
world-wide, including Seveso II, RMP, and COMAH.
DNV Software has acknowledged PHASTs usage in
this context and has facilitated it by including features
within the program as necessary:
10 minute continuous release
Emergency Response Planning Guideline (ERPG)
averaging times
Blast model
Average time flexibility
PHAST Interface and Data Handling

The software is delivered with an on-line help system
that includes theory of the models as well as a getting
started guide and general help. The windows look and
feel of the software and its user-friendly design help
decrease the learning curve. Some of PHASTs features
include the facility to overlay graphical output such as

cloud footprints on maps, ability to connect to a GPS
server to obtain maps and the inclusion of weather
dependent parameters.
Data that is common for a particular scenario set can
be stored so it does not have to be entered for every
scenario i.e. weather data for a particular plant, materials used in a plant. Only data specific to an individual
case needs to be provided for each scenario, reducing
data entry requirements and analysis time.
PHAST Materials Database

PHAST uses the industry standard DIPPR database to
calculate chemical physical properties. Additionally,
the program is capable of creating mixtures and modeling them through all stages of discharge, dispersion
and subsequent toxic or flammable effects. The DIPPR
chemical database can also be used to obtain physical
properties (vapor pressures, densities, etc.) for pure
chemicals or multi-component mixtures.
For your engineering software needs

PHAST performs complex calculations within a user friendly software package with a modern
Windows look and feel.
Industry Leader
PHAST is one of a range of products developed by
DNV, a recognized world leader in the field of major
industrial accident hazard assessment. As a result it has
been adopted by many international companies and
governments as a decision support tool in industrial
and public safety matters. With this backup, PHAST
subscribers can trust in DNVs full commitment to the
continued development of the product, where
response will be made to operational experience and
changing user requirements through regular product
review and upgrades.
Validation and Verification

PHAST has been extensively validated and verified.
The theory and performance of the DNV Unified
Dispersion Model (UDM) has also been independently reviewed as part of the EC funded project, SMEDIS,
and it has excelled in both theory and performance.
PHASTs validation and verification documentation
are provided with the software.
e-mail: dnv.software@dnv.com
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PHAST
Tutorial Manual
DNV SOFTWARE
Palace House, 3 Cathedral Street, London SE19DE, UK
http://www.dnv.com/software
Copyright Det Norske Veritas. All Rights Reserved.
No reproduction or broadcast of this material is permitted without the express written consent of DNV.
Contact software.risk@dnv.com for more information.
Contents
Chapter 1
An Introduction to PHAST
In the first chapter you open an example analysis provided with the program,
explore its main features, and run the calculations and view the results
without having to enter or change any input data.
Chapter 2
Setting up your own Analysis
The second chapter guides you through the process of setting up a Study
Folder for performing consequence calculations for a range of common types
of hazardous event. The tutorial supplies all of the input values that you will
need to complete the analysis.
18
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 1
An Introduction to PHAST
What to Expect of this Tutorial
The aim of this tutorial is to make you familiar with the ideas and techniques involved
in performing a consequence analysis with PHAST, and to give you practice in
defining a range of common types of hazardous events. By the time you have finished
the tutorial you should have a firm understanding of the issues involved, and be ready
to start work on an analysis of your own.
The tutorial is divided into two chapters. In this first chapter you will open an example
analysis provided with the program, explore its main features, and run the calculations
and view the results without having to enter or change any input data. In the second
chapter you will create a new analysis, defining a range of hazardous events and
performing a consequence analysis for them.
The tutorial should take 1-2 hours to complete. You do not have to complete it in a
single sitting, and can take a break between chapters if you prefer.
Starting the Program Running

When you install the program, the installation process places a DNV Software folder
under Programs in your Start menu, and also adds a PHAST shortcut to your Desktop.
You can use either method to start the program running.
The Main Window

When you start the program running, the main window will open as shown.
The Main Window on Startup
The first line in the Message Log should state that the Licence is valid. You must
have a valid license for PHAST set up on your computer in order to be able to enter
data and run the calculations. If the Message Log says that you do not have a valid
license, you should contact product support using the details given under Product
Support in the Help menu.
The window will normally open with no Study Folder loaded where a Study
Folder is a file that contains the definition of a consequence analysis and you must
open or create a Study Folder file before you can perform any modelling work with the
program. If you wish, you can change the Installation Preferences under the Options
menu so that the program starts by automatically opening a Study Folder (e.g. the
Study Folder you worked on most recently).
Opening the PHAST Example Study Folder

The program is supplied with an example Study Folder called PHAST Example
Study, which is used in this chapter to give a quick introduction to the terminology
and approach used in the program.
To open the Study Folder, choose Open
Example from the File menu. A File
Open dialog will appear as shown,
displaying the contents of the Examples
folder installed with the program files.
There are several file-formats available
for Study Folder files, but the default
format is the *.psu format, and the
PHAST Example Study file is in this
format. Select the file, and click on
Open.
The appearance of the main window changes when a Study Folder is open: there are
many more toolbars, and there is a pane with five tab sections at the left side of the
window, as shown. The pane is known as the Study Tree pane, and you work in its
various tab sections to set up the input data for the analysis.
The Main Window with a Study Folder Open

2
The Study Tree Pane

The Study Tree pane allows you to organise and edit the input data for your
consequence analysis. The pane contains a number of tab sections, each of which
covers a different type of input data, and these tab
sections are described below.
The Models Tab Section

The term Model is used in two different ways in
PHAST, though these different meanings are unlikely
to cause you confusion.
Model: a set of available calculations
The program has several different sets of calculations
available, and each of these sets is known as a separate
Model and has its own icon. For example, there is a
Model known as the Vessel/Pipe Source Model that
has a blue icon that represents a process vessel; this
Model considers the release of material from its
storage or process conditions in a vessel or pipe,
through all the stages in its dispersion to a harmless
concentration, and it also performs fire, explosion and
toxic calculations to obtain representative effect zones
for the dispersing cloud. There is another Model
known as the Fireball Model that has a red and
yellow icon that represents a fireball flame; this Model
considers only the radiation effect zones from a
fireball, and does not perform any of the release and dispersion modelling performed
by the Vessel/Pipe Source Model. There are eleven different types of Model in total.
You define a given hazardous event that you want to analyse by selecting the most
suitable Model from the list of the eleven Models. When you select the Model from the
list, the program will insert an icon for that Model into the Models tab section. The icon
represents an instance of that Model and will have its own set of values for the input
data, and you can define any number of instances of a given Model in your Study
Folder, each with its own set of input data to represent a particular hazardous event.
As shown in the illustration, the PHAST Example Study Study Folder contains ten
instances of one Model (the Vessel/Pipe Source Model), and one instance of each of
eight other kinds of Model.
Model: one instance of a particular type of calculation Model
In practice, people rarely use the term instance to refer to a given use of a particular
Model, and instead refer to the instance directly as a Model, so it would be more
typical to say that the PHAST Example Study Study Folder contains eight Vessel/Pipe
Source Models, one Pool Fire Model and one Fireball Model.
The Model icons are organised in a tree structure. The top level represents the entire
Study Folder, with the name PHAST Example Study, the next level is the Study (named
example), the third level contains several Folders, and the fourth level contains the
Models themselves. You can create any number of Studies or Folders, depending on
how you want to organise your analysis.
Inserting a Model
You cannot place a Model icon under the Study Folder itself,
but only under a Study or Folder. To add a Model at a
particular point in the structure, select the Study or Folder, and
then select the appropriate Model from the Insert menu as
shown. You can also insert a Model by selecting the Model
from the Insert cascade at the top of the right-click menu, or by
selecting the icon for the Model from the toolbar.
The Weather Tab Section

The Weather tab section contains a folder named Global Weathers
with three definitions of weather conditions. The program
performs a separate run of the consequence calculations for
each separate weather conditions, giving a set of results that are
specific to that Weather.
The Weather tab section also contains a Study icon called
Example Cases. In the Model tab section, all of the Models have
been placed inside the Example Cases Study, but you create and
use any number of Studies in an analysis.
You can insert Weathers underneath a Study in the Weather tab section. Such Weathers
are known as Local Weathers, whereas those in the Global Weathers folder are known
as Global Weathers. When the program is processing the consequence calculations
for a given Model, it will perform the calculations for every Global Weather and for
any Local Weathers under the Study that contains the Model, i.e. the Local Weathers
are specific to the Models in that particular Study.
The Parameters Tab Section

In PHAST, Parameters are background inputs that
are applied to all calculations and are not specific
to a particular Model.
As with the Weathers, there is a set of Global
Parameters, and you can also define Local
Parameters that are specific to a given Study. If
you define a local set of Explosion Parameters, for
example, the values in this set will be used instead
of the values for the global Explosion Parameters
during the calculations for the Models in that
Study.
Green border to icon: shows use of default values
All of the icons in the Global Parameters folder have
green borders. The program uses this border to show that all of the Parameters under
that icon are using the default values that are supplied with the program. If you change
the value of any of the Parameters then the green border around the icon will
disappear. This allows you to see at a glance which aspects of an analysis are using alldefault values, and which are using changed values.
The Materials Tab Section

The program is supplied with a set of System
Materials that contains full property data for more
than sixty materials. However, the Materials tab
section does not show icons for all of these
materials, but only for materials that have been
selected in the input data for the various Models in
the Study Folder, or for materials that you have
added yourself while working in the Material tab
section.
PHAST currently only allows you to define Global
Materials, and the same set of Materials data will
be used in the calculations for all Model. You
cannot currently define Local Materials to be used
only for the Models in a given Study.
There are three types of icon present in the Material tab section of the PHAST Example
Study Study Folder:
Green Icon: a Pure Material
The eight green icons are all pure Materials. Each icon has a green border, which shows
that all of the input fields for the material have the values set for that material in the
System Materials. You can change the values if you wish - e.g. to enter different probit
values for a toxic material and if you make changes the green border will disappear.
All of the icons in the PHAST Example Study Study Folder are for pure materials that are
supplied in the System Parameters, but the program also allows you to add your own
materials.
Yellow-and-Red Icon: a Mixture
The yellow-and-red icon is a Mixture, and in the PHAST Example Study Folder it
represents the plume of hydrogen chloride, nitrogen dioxide and sulphur dioxide
produced by a fire in a pesticide warehouse which is the situation modelled by the
Warehouse Fire Model.
This particular Mixture is generated automatically when you run the Warehouse Fire
Model, but you can also define your own Mixtures, using any combination of the
materials in PHAST, and select these Mixtures for use in the dispersion, fire and
explosion calculations.
Pink Icon: a Pesticide
The six pink icons are all Pesticides, and are used to describe the contents of the
warehouse for the Warehouse Fire Model. Pesticides are only relevant to the
Warehouse Fire Model and cannot be selected for any other type of modelling.
The Map Tab Section

The Map tab section allows you to set up map image and geographic data so that you
can view the regions and features affected by consequence results.
The map image is defined by the powerstation raster image, and you view the image by
selecting Map from the View menu. The Map Window will open in the area to the right
of the Study Tree pane, and you can use the options in the Map menu, the right-click
menu and the Map toolbar to zoom in and out, to move around in the Map Window,
and to control the display of the features of the window such as the scale bar and the
legend.
The Map tab section and the Map Window
The Models are represented by dots on the Map. These dots can sometimes be difficult
to see and to relate to the individual Models, but there are several options that can
make this easier:
Changing the Size and Colour of the Dots
Select Map from the Preferences cascade of
the Options menu to open the Map
Preferences dialog, and then move to the
Model tab section.
By default the colour is turquoise and
the Point Size is 7 pixels, but if you
change the colour to blue and the size to
10 pixels as shown, then the dots will be
easier to see on the powerstation Map.
Displaying the Model Names on the Map
If you move to the Models tab section, select any Model, and then select Labels from the
View menu, the names of all of the Models will be displayed on the Map. To hide the
names, deselect the Labels option.
If there is more than one Model at a given location as with the Chlorine Models and the
Butadiene Models then the names will be superimposed and may be difficult to read,
although this will make it clear that there are multiple Models at the location.
Pinpointing an Individual Model

If you select a Model in the Study Tree and then select Pinpoint from the View menu (or
press the F4 key), the dot for that Model will become centred in the Map window and
will also be highlighted (i.e. displayed in a light turquoise colour). This allows you to
locate a specific Model, which is useful if you cannot identify the name for that Model
on the Map.
You can close the Map Window by selecting Close All from the Window menu.
Viewing Input Data

The section above introduced the main types of input data and their organisation, and
this section describes how to work on the details of the input data.
Opening the Input Dialog for the Chlorine Rupture Model

Move to the Models tab section and double-click on the icon for the Model named
Chlorine Rupture. The Vessel/Pipe input dialog will open as shown below.
The dialog contains a large number of input fields organised over sixteen tab sections,
but many of these fields are relevant only to advanced modelling options (e.g. for a
sensitivity analysis), and you will typically only need to supply a small set of input
data when defining a Model for use in an analysis, as you will see in the next chapter.
Input Dialog for the Chlorine Rupture Model
Getting Help on the Input Data

This tutorial does not attempt to describe every item on input data, but the program is
supplied with comprehensive online Help.
Every input dialog contains a Help button at the bottom right. When you click on this
button, the online Help will appear in a separate window, as shown.
The Help Window
The Help Window will be displaying a description of the current tab section, but you
can use the links inside the topic and the Contents, Index and Search tabs to reach any
topic in the Help system and gain a full understanding of the way that the input data
will be used in the calculations and the appropriate values that you should set for the
hazardous events that you want to model.
Most dialogs also have a Whats This Help button in
the form of a question mark at the right of the title bar.
If you click on this button, the cursor will
change to a question mark, showing that
you are in Whats This Help mode, and if
you then click on a field in the dialog, a
popup window will appear over the field,
describing the field and giving advice on
setting values, as shown.
There are some tab sections that appear in the input dialog for more than one Model.
For example, the Material tab section is used for both the Vessel/Pipe Source Model,
the User-Defined Source Model and the Bleve Blast Model. The Help is written in order
to give full guidance for either Model, so there may be references in the Help to
features that are not currently relevant to you.
After you have finished exploring the input dialog, click on Cancel to close the input
dialog without saving any changes you might have made. If you wish, you can move
to the other tab sections and explore the input dialogs for other types of data.
Running the Calculations and Viewing the Results

In the Models tab section, select the Example Cases Study, and select the Models option
from the Run menu.
The program will process the calculations for each of the eighteen Models in turn,
performing the calculations for each of the three Global Weathers, and showing the
progress through the calculations. When the calculations for a given Model have been
completed for all three Weathers, the name of that Model will change from black to
blue, which is the colour-coding that the program uses to show that a Model has run
successfully and has a complete set of results. The calculations will take several
minutes to complete, depending on the speed of your machine.
You do not have to run the calculations for all Models and all Weathers. If you select a
single Model or folder, then you can run the calculations just for that Model or for the
Models in that folder, or you can select Batch/Weather Setup from the Run menu to select
Models across different folders or to select only specific Weathers. The selection of
Weathers in the Setup dialog will be used for all calculations, but the selection of
Models will be used only when you select Batch Run from the Run menu.
Viewing the Graphs for the Chlorine and Butadiene Releases

Select the Vessels or Pipe Sources folder and
then select Graph from the View menu, from
the right-click menu or the toolbars. A dialog
will appear as shown, prompting you to
chose the weather conditions whose results
you want to view.
If you had selected a single Model rather
than a folder with multiple Models, then the
dialog would have checkboxes next to the
Weathers instead of radio buttons, and you would be able to compare the results for
several Weathers for that Model. If you choose a single Weather in this situation, then
the graphs will have additional features that are not available when you are viewing
the results for multiple Models or Weathers.
For this example, select the F 1.5m/s Weather. This is the weather with the most stable
conditions, and is likely to give the longest dispersion distances. When you click on OK
there will be a pause of a few seconds, and then the Graph Window will open as
shown in the space to the right of the Study Tree pane.
The Graph Window
The Graph Window will usually contain many tab sections, each with a different type
of graph. The tab sections included for a particular combination of Model will depend
on the type of the Models (e.g. Vessel/Pipe Source Model or Fireball Model), on the
type of the materials (toxic or flammable), and on the details of the dispersion and
effect behaviour (e.g. whether or not liquid rainout occurs). The Chlorine and
Butadiene Models have graphs for cloud concentration, for pool vaporisation, for toxic
effects, for jet fire, fireball and flash fire effects, and for explosion effects.
The Concentration Graphs
The first graph is of centreline concentration. This will be showing the results at the
time at which the cloud footprint covers the greatest area, which occurs at a different
time for each weather.
The graph will initially be showing results only for the four Chlorine Models. In the
dispersion calculations, the program uses an averaging time that takes into account
changes in wind direction over the course of the release, to give an average
concentration at a given location, and it uses different averaging times for toxic and for
flammable materials, reflecting the different time-scales that are relevant to each type
of release. The concentration graphs always display results calculated with a specific
averaging time, which is displayed in the legend for the graph. The default averaging
time for this set of results is the Toxic averaging time, and the Butadiene Models were
not modelled with that time so have no
results to display.
To view the concentration results for the
Butadiene Models, you must change the
selection of averaging time to display. To do
this, select Properties from the right-click
menu or the Graph menu to open the Plot
Properties dialog, and then move to the
Averaging Times tab section as shown.
If you change to the Flammable Averaging
Time, the graph will display the results for
the four Butadiene Models only.
The User Defined option will also be
enabled, which shows that some of the
Models have a user-defined averaging time defined in the Location tab section. In fact,
all of them have such a time defined, and if you select User Defined as the averaging
time for the graphs, the graph will display results for all eight Models.
Results Displayed on the Map
After the six tab sections that show the results in terms of concentration, the next tab
section is the Map graph, which allows you to view different types of effect zones
superimposed on the map.
When you first move to the Map tab section, the Map graph will be displaying Cloud
Footprint results for a concentration of 10,000 ppm for the Toxic averaging time, and
the only results displayed will be for the Chlorine Rupture and Chlorine Liquid Leak Models.
The other Chlorine Models dont produce this concentration level at the default height
of ground level as you can see from the Sideview graph but if you open the Plot
Properties dialog, move to the Distance tab and set the Height to 10 m, results for the
Chlorine Vapour Leak Model will also appear in the plot.
10
The Footprint concentration results are the

default form of results for the Map graph,
but the Event field in the Display tab section
of the Plot Properties dialog allows you to
change to a different form, as shown. The
list of types of effect will depend on the
types of Models that are covered by the
Graph, and will be similar to the range of
tab sections in the Graph window.
If you select Toxic effects, then the
Radiation/Toxic field will become enabled
and you can choose between dose, probit
and lethality results.
If you view the Lethality
footprint on the Map, you will
see that the Chlorine Liquid Leak
gives the greatest downwind
effect distance for lethality. The
Rupture Model produces higher
peak concentrations at any
given downwind location, but
the short duration of the rupture
means that the total dose
received is lower than for the
leak.
The Map graph initially shows
the effect zone with a northerly
wind, but you can choose Wind
Direction from the Graph menu or
the right-click menu to change
the wind direction.
The Pool Vaporisation graph
does not show any hazardous effect distances, but the Toxic graph and the various Fire
and Explosion graphs all include footprint-results of the form shown on the map, and
most of them also include graphs that show the effect-level along the cloud centre-line
as a function of distance downwind (e.g. radiation level for a jet fire, or lethality for a
toxic release).
If you look through the Fire and Explosion graphs, you will see that the greatest
downwind effect distance is reached by the Late Explosion Worst Case for the Butadiene
Rupture Model, which reaches a distance of about 880 m downwind. A late explosion is
one that occurs after the cloud has started dispersing away from the release point, and
by default the explosion is assumed to be centred at the cloud front, which means that
the explosion radius will reach beyond the flammable region of the cloud. The
program calculates the results for such an explosion at regular intervals, and the Worst
Case graph displays the results for the ignition-time that gives the greatest downwind
effect distance.
11
Viewing the Reports for the Butadiene Rupture Model

The program also presents results in the form of reports. If you wish you can view a
report that covers multiple Models e.g. a report for all of the Chlorine and Butadiene
Models but if you want to compare the report-results for different Models it is easier
to view separate reports for each Model and compare between two reports.
To view the reports for the Butadiene Rupture Model, select the Model and then select
Report from the View menu or from the right-click menu or the toolbars. After a pause of
a few seconds, the Report Window will open to the right of the Study Tree pane as
shown. The Report Window will probably hide the Graph Window, but you can use
the options in the Window menu to move between the windows. You can have any
number of Graph Windows and Report Windows open at the same time.
The Report Window
As with the Graph Window, the Report Window will normally contain several types of
results, presented in different tab sections. A given tab section will present the results
for all of the weather conditions that have been processed for the Model.
For the Butadiene Rupture Model, the first tab section is the Input tab section, which lists
the input data. The Audit tab section gives version details for the program, for
parameters and materials, but all of the other tab sections give details of the
consequence results that you saw summarised in the Graph window:
The Summary Report
This report summarises
the maximum downwind
distance to different types
of effects, and gives a
direct comparison
between the different
weather conditions. For
the Butadiene Rupture, D 5m/s is the weather that gives the greatest distances, although the
difference between the three weathers is small.
12
The Discharge Report

This gives details of the discharge modelling, and the condition of the release
immediately after expansion to atmospheric pressure which is the condition used for
the start of the dispersion calculations.
This report and all the other results-reports give the results for each weather in turn.
The Summary report is the only report which presents a direct comparison between the
different weathers.
The Dispersion Report
This report contains a table which describes the location and state of the cloud at a
series of time-steps during the dispersion. You might refer to this report if you wanted
to understand a particular aspect of the dispersion behaviour in greater depth.
The Commentary Report
This report highlights the
main events in the course of
the dispersion, and allows
you to see easily if and when
differest types of behaviour
occurred, e.g. touch-down on
the ground, or the rainout of
liquid droplets.
The Averaging Times Report
The centreline concentrations given in the Dispersion and Commentary reports are all
calculated using a core averaging time that is set in the Dispersion Parameters and
that has a default value of 18.75 s. The Averaging Times report gives the centreline
concentrations at a series of steps during the dispersion, calculated using alternative
averaging times.
For the Butadiene Rupture these alternative times are the Flammable Averaging Time
(whose value is set in the Flammable Parameters) and the User-Defined Averaging
Time (whose value is set in the Location tab section for the Model). In this analysis
both of these times are also set to 18.75 s so for all the Butadiene Models the Averaging
Times report gives the same concentrations as the other reports. However, if you
viewed the report for one of the Chlorine Models, you would see results for the Toxic
Averaging Time (whose value is set in the Toxic Parameters), and which has the
default value of 600 s.
The Fireball Report
The Fireball report gives radiation results for a fireball resulting from immediate
ignition of the released material. The report first gives a description of the fireball
flame (emissive power, liftoff height, etc.), then it gives the dimensions of the elliptical
effect zones for up to five different radiation levels where the levels are set in the
Fireball tab section for the Model and finally gives the radiation levels at a series of
points downwind from the centreline of the release.
The Jet Fire and Pool Fire reports have a similar form, giving the same three types of
results.
13
The Early Explosion Report

For Butadiene Rupture, the tab for the Early Explosion report is named Early Expl.(TNT), and
this is because the explosion method selected for this Model is the TNT method. There
are three methods available, and you select between them in the Flammable tab section
for the Model. The TNT method is the simplest, requiring the smallest amount of input
data, and it is the default method.
The report is similar in form to the Fireball report, giving the dimensions of the circular
effect zones for up to five explosion overpressures where the overpressures are set in
the Explosion Parameters and also giving the overpressure levels at a series of points
downwind from the centreline of the release.
The Late Explosion Report
This report gives the overpressure effect distances for late explosions occuring at a
range of times during the dispersion. For each ignition time, the report gives the
location of the cloud-centre, the location of the centre of the explosion, the downwind
distance to up to five overpressure levels, and the flammable mass in the cloud at the
time of the explosion. By default the centre of the explosion is taken as the cloud front
to 50% of the LFL, but you can change this setting in the Explosion Parameters.
Results for Two Time-Steps in the Late Explosion Report
The ignition-time that gives the greatest downwind effect distance is the one presented
in the Worst Case Late Explosion graph, as described in the section above.
The range of reports presented for a particular Model will depend on the type of Model
and on the behaviour of a release, and there are additional reports that do not appear
for the Butadiene Rupture Model. For example, if the material is toxic then there will be a
Toxic report with a table of dose, probit and lethality results as a function of
downwind distance, and if the liquid in the release rains out to form a pool, then there
will be reports describing the spreading and evaporation of the pool and describing the
series of dispersion segments used to represent the vapour produced from the pool.
For most of your work with the program you will probably refer mainly to the graphs,
since they present the results in the most direct form and allow easy comparison
between different Models and Weathers.
After you have finished examining the results, you can use Close All from the Window
menu to close the windows.
14
Viewing the Results for the Chimney Release and Long Pipeline Models
The other two Vessel/Pipe Source Models in the PHAST Example Study Study Folder
illustrate some of the special modelling features that are available.
The Chimney Release Model
This models a release of methane from a chimney stack on top of a building, and takes
into account the effects of the building wake on the dispersion.
If you view the graphs
for the Model for all
three Weathers and then
move to the Sideview
graph, you will see an
outline of the building
with the chimney on top,
and with the three
plumes emerging from
the chimney.
The building wake
produces a zone of low
pressure, and this pulls
the plumes downwards.
The model deals with this by adjusting the height at a specific downwind distance,
which is 100 m in this case. In some situations the plume may be pulled down low
enough that all or part of the plume is entrained in the building wake, but that has not
occurred for any of the weathers for this Model.
The Sideview graph shows that the plumes never approach closer to the ground than
about 58 m, but if you look at the Explosion graphs and the Flash Fire graph, you will
see Worst Case Late Explosion distances of over 900 m, and Flash Fire distances of
about 600 m to 50% of the LFL. When performing the modelling of late explosions and
flash fires, the program can calculate the flammable footprint of the cloud either at the
cloud centreline or at a specific height. The centreline method is selected by default in
the Flammable Parameters since this will give the most conservative results, but you
should check the Sideview graph and make a judgement about whether or not the
effect zone would actually reach the areas of interest for your analysis. A flash fire in a
plume 60 m in the air would not affect people on the ground, but an explosion in such
a plume might well produce significant overpressures at ground level.
The Long Pipeline Model
This models the rupture of a 250 m propane pipeline that has a pumped flowrate of 10
kg/s, where the rupture occurs 100 m downstream from the pump. The program
performs discharge modelling for the complex, time-dependent flow regime inside the
ruptured pipeline and then performs dispersion modelling for a representative
averaged discharge rate.
Select the Model, and view the graphs for the F 1.5m/s weather. For this analysis the
discharge calculations are the same for all weather conditions, so you only need to
view one weather if you are only interested in the discharge results.
The first tab section in the Graph window will be the Long Pipeline tab. This contains a
large number of sub-tabs, each of which shows the behaviour of a particular discharge
variable against time. Move to the Flowrate sub-tab, since this shows the behaviour of
the most important variable.
15
The Flowrate graph

appears to show the
flowrate dropping instantly
from about 230 kg/s to
about 10 kg/s, as shown.
However, it is difficult to
tell whether or not the drop
is instant because the
default scale on the time
axis goes up to nearly a
million seconds. To see the
initial behaviour in more
detail, you must set the
scale yourself.
Select Scale and Labels from the right-click menu or the Graph menu to open the Scale
dialog, then uncheck the option for Automatic Scaling and set the Maximum Time to
60 s.
With the changed scale,
you can see that the rate
takes about 45 s to drop to
a steady rate of 10 kg/s,
which is the pump rate.
There are five lines plotted
on the graph, and their
meaning may not be
immediately obvious. The
two A lines describe the 100
m pipe-section upstream of
the rupture, the two B lines
describe the 150 m section
downstream of the rupture, and the Total line is the sum of the rate released from the
two sections. The two Upstream lines show the pumped inflow into the section, which is
10 kg/s for Section A and zero for Section B, and the two Orifice lines show the flow
from that section at the point of rupture. If you want to hide any of these lines (e.g. the
Upstream lines), open the Plot Property dialog and deselect the lines in the Long Pipe tab
section.
For the first nine seconds, the orifice flowrates from both sides are almost identical, as
the flash-front travels along each section at a similar speed, giving a similar flowregime. However, at 9 s the flash-front reaches the end of section A, and from this
point onwards the pressure profile in that section is maintained at the profile produced
by a pumped flowrate of 10 kg/s; the program stops the discharge calculations for
Section A at this point which means that there are no results available to display on the
graph after 9 s, but the 10 kg/s flow from Section A is added in to the Total, as you can
see.
If you move to the Distance sub-tab, you can see that the flash-front reaches the end of
Section B after 14 s. However, the calculations do not stop for Section B at this point,
and proceed to model the depressurisation of the section until it has emptied
completely at 45 s.
16
If you view the Discharge report for the Model, you will see that the average rate used
to represent the behaviour is 10.5 kg/s, taken over a time-scale of one hour. This may
underestimate the hazard produced by the release, and there are options available for
representing a time-varying release with more than one release segment so that you
can investigate the significance of the type of short-term behaviour seen in this release.
These options are described in more detail in the next chapter.
Viewing the Results for the Other Models

The other eight Models in the Study Folder are not Source Models. Each models one
specific type of behaviour and will produce a fixed set of graphs and reports.
The Warehouse Fire Model
This models a fire in a pesticide warehouse and you can define multiple scenarios for
each warehouse, where each fire scenario is defined by the surface area of pesticide
involved and by the duration of the fire. There are special calculations that determine
the release rate and composition for the toxic plume produced by the fire, and the
dispersion and effects of this plume are then modelled in the same way as for the toxic
cloud for the four Chlorine Models.
The Three Flammable Models
The Pool Fire, Fireball and Jet Fire Models perform the same type of radiation modelling as
that associated with a Source Model, but they give you more control over the definition
of the flame and they also allow you to specify in more detail the locations for which
you want to calculation the radiation levels.
The Four Explosion Models
The Baker-Strehlow, Multi-Energy and TNT Models perform the same type of vapour-cloud
explosion modelling as that associated with a Source Model, but they give you more
control over the definition of the flammable cloud and of the results-locations.
The BLEVE Blast Model calculates the overpressure levels produced by the rupture of a
vessel under flame impingement, which is a type of explosion modelling that is not
performed for a Source Model.
The form of the results for all of these Models is similar to the corresponding
dispersion, toxic, fire and explosion results for a Source Model, and you should find
interpreting the graphs and reports very straightforward.
You have now seen the main features of PHAST. When you are ready you should
proceed to Chapter 2, which takes you through the stages in setting up your own
analysis.
17
Chapter 2:Setting up your own Analysis
Chapter 2
Setting up your own Analysis
The Form of the Analysis
This chapter will guide you through the process of setting up a Study Folder for
performing consequence calculations. The tutorial supplies all of the input values that
you will need to complete the analysis.
The Models Defined in the Analysis

The main aim of the analysis is to show you how you can define Models to represent
the most common types of hazardous event, and how to take into account the main
variables. The types of hazardous event that are considered in the analysis are as
follows:
A rupture of a vessel containing a toxic material
A pipework leak from the liquid side of a vessel containing a toxic material
A pipework leak from the gas side of a vessel containing a toxic material
The equivalent three releases for a vessel containing a flammable material
The rupture of a propane tank wagon under normal operating conditions.
A fireball or BLEVE of the propane tank wagon as a result of fire impingement.
A liquid leak from the body of the propane tank wagon.
If you wish, you can omit events, define different events, or change the input values in
order to define conditions that are more typical of your facility. However, if you do this
you will obtain results that are different from those that will be shown in this manual.
Creating a new Study Folder

To create a new Study Folder, select New from the File menu or the Toolbar. The
program will close the PHAST Example Study Study Folder and a new Study Folder will
open, with a name shown as Untitled.
Saving the Study Folder

You cannot save the Study Folder with the name Untitled and should save it with a
real name immediately.
Select Save As from the File menu. The File Save dialog will appear and
you should locate the DNVuser folder (the default location for saving
Study Folder files), use the Create New Folder option to create a folder with
your name, and then save the new file to this folder with the name Tutorial and the
default file format of *.psu.
18
The Contents of a new Study Folder

New Study Folder files are not empty but will have some default data set up:
A Global Weather Folder containing three Weathers
The weathers are the same as those in the PHAST Example Study Study Folder.
A Set of Default Parameters
As with the PHAST Example Study Study Folder, there is a set of Global Parameters, all of
which are using the default values.
Setting up the Map Data

The tutorial uses a map of an area near two rivers, in a country which has a national
grid system. The image for this map is supplied with the program the form of a *.tif file.
If you have an image file for the area around your facility, you might prefer to use that
instead.
Inserting the Raster Image

Image files that contain a description of each pixel in the image are known as raster
images, and most common image files are in this form, e.g. *.tif, *.bmp, *.gif files. The
program can also display map data taken from a GIS Database, where an image is
defined by describing the lines that form the image.
The process of inserting a raster image into a Study Folder is very different from the
process of inserting a connection to a GIS Database. This tutorial deals only with raster
images, and you should refer to the online Help for details of working with GIS
Databases.
The process of inserting the raster images involves several stages.
Ensure that there is a Raster Image Set in the Map tab section
If the Map tab section does not already contain a Raster Image Set icon, select the Tutorial
icon at the top of the tab section, and use the Insert menu to insert a Set.
The Set is a folder for raster images, and you have to insert raster images inside such a
folder.
Insert a Raster Image inside the Set
Select the Set, then select Raster Image from
the Insert menu. A dialog will appear as
shown, and you must browse to locate the
image file. The tutorial.tif file is located in the
Examples folder for the installation of the
program (which is typically under Program
Files\DNVS\PHAST_6_5). When you first
browse to this folder you will not see any
files, since the list of File types is not set to
*.tif by default.
When you have selected a valid raster image file, the Placement Mode fields will
become enabled; these are options for specifying the map co-ordinates covered by the
image. Some files contain georeference data or header data that you can use to set the
co-ordinate data for the image, but the tutorial.tif file does not and the only option
available is the Interactive option, which is available for any raster image file.
19
Selecting a Co-ordinate System for the Map

When you click on OK in the Place dialog, a dialog called the Co-ordinate system
wizard will open; this is the first step in selecting a co-ordinate system for the
analysis. It is only essential to select a system if the Placement Mode is set to
Georeferenced or to By Header, or if you want to use a GIS database in the analysis.
When you are using the Interactive Placement Mode and will not be connecting to a
GIS database which is the situation in this tutorial - you can click on Cancel in the
Wizard dialog and leave the co-ordinate system undefined.
The Wizard dialog contains a Help button, and this gives you a quick way of viewing an
overview of the user and definition of co-ordinate systems in PHAST.
Placing the Image in the Map Window
When you click on Cancel in the Wizard
dialog, there will be brief pause and the Map
Window will then open to the right of the
Study Tree pane.
The cursor will be in the form of crosshairs,
and you must drag and drop to place the
image in the window. This sets the initial
values for the map co-ordinates for the
images, which you will set to the correct
values in the next step.
Setting the Co-ordinates and Size of the Image
Double-click on the tutorial icon to open the input dialog for
the image, move to the Geometry tab section, and set the
values shown. The origin for a map image is the top-left
corner, and the values are in the national co-ordinate system
for the country.
When you click on OK the image will probably disappear
from the Map Window because it has moved to a location beyond the scope of the
window. Select Fit > All from the Map menu, and the Map Window will change to
display the image covered by the image; if the menu bar does not include a Map option,
click on the Map Window to make sure it is selected, and the Map menu will appear in
the menu bar.
Setting a Large Number of Significant Figures for Edit Dialogs
The co-ordinate values for the image will be in the national co-ordinate system for the
country, and the values for the area covered by the map are six-digit numbers. By
default, input dialogs display only four significant figures of any number that you are
editing, and with this setting you will find it difficult to be sure that you have entered
the co-ordinates.
To change the setting for the number of significant figures, select Preferences > General
from the Options menu and move to the Miscellaneous tab. The first field in the tab
section is the Number of significant figures for edit windows, and you should make
sure that this is set to six or more.
Click on OK to close the General Preferences dialog and return to the Map tab section. If
you open the dialog for the raster image again, you will be able to see that the values
that you entered were stored in full.
20
The Location of the Site on the Map

For the tutorial, the facility occupies the long, narrow section of land to the north and
west of The Village, between the east bank of the river and the road that runs parallel
to the river, shown shaded yellow in the illustration.
The Location of the Facility on the Map
Defining the First Model: for a Toxic Rupture

In the Tutorial.psu Study Folder, move to the Models tab section. The first Model you will
define represents the rupture of a vessel containing a toxic material, which is one of
several Models dealing with a toxic material.
The vessel is a sphere with a radius of 3.37 m and volume of 120 m3 and a maximum
fill-level of 85%, containing chlorine at saturation conditions and ambient temperature.
The sphere is located near the centre of the site and is elevated 4 m above the ground.
There is no bund surrounding the sphere.
Insert a Folder to Group Toxic Releases

Select the Study icon, then select Folder from the Insert menu or the toolbar to insert a
folder. Use Rename from the Edit menu or the right-click menu (or press the F2 key), and
give the folder the name Toxic. You will place all of the Models that represent toxic
releases in this folder.
Turn on the Option to Insert Models on the Map

In the Options menu, select the option to Insert Models on Map. By default this option is
turned off, and when you insert a Model the icon will appear immediately in the Study
Tree. If you turn the option on, then the Model icon will not appear in the Study Tree
until you have clicked on the Map to set the location for the Model.
In this tutorial you will insert the Models on the Map in approximately the correct
location, and then correct the location as necessary in the input dialog.
21
Insert a Vessel/Pipe Source Model

Select the Toxic folder, then select Vessel or Pipe
Source from the Insert menu or the right-click
menu. The Map window will open if it is not
already open and the cursor will turn to
crosshairs., and you should click at a point near
the centre of the site as shown to place the
Model.
After you have clicked, an icon will be added to
the Study Tree, and a dot will appear on the
Map to show the location of the Model. Rename
the icon to Cl2 Rupture.
The icon will have a red border around it, showing that it does not have a full set of
input data. You will not be able to run the consequence calculations for the Model until
you have supplied values for all of the mandatory input fields, as will be described
below.
You use the Vessel/Pipe Source Model when you want to perform dispersion and
effects calculations for a release from containment and you want to use the programs
in-built discharge calculations to determine the state of the material after expansion to
atmospheric pressure, which is the state required for the start of the dispersion
calculations.
The program contains a second Source Model which is called the User Defined Source
Model. This Model does not perform discharge calculations, but instead allows you to
specify directly the state of the material after expansion to atmospheric pressure. You
use it if you want greater control over the inputs to the dispersion and effect
calculations, as will be described later in this chapter.
Setting the Input Data

Double-click on the icon for the Model to open the input dialog.
All of the fields in the first tab section are blank, and those that are enabled have red
borders . A field with a red border is a mandatory field: you must supply a value for
such a field, and you will not be able to run the calculations for a Model that has any
mandatory fields unset.
This section describes each tab section in turn, including those that are not relevant to
this particular hazardous event. Click on the Help button to open the online Help if you
want further information at any point.
The Material Tab Section
To set the Discharge Material, click on the button with three dots to the right of the
Discharge Material field, and select CHLORINE from the list that appears. The list
contains all of the materials that are defined in the System Materials.
The vessel is a sphere with a volume of 120 m3. This Model will represent the vessel
with the maximum degree of filling, which is 85%. Select Volume as the method of
specifying the Inventory, and enter a value of 102 m3.
22
The chlorine is held under saturation

conditions at atmospheric temperature.
The temperature will vary depending on
the season and time of day, but for this
Model a value of 10oC will be used as
representative. To set these Process Conditions, choose Saturated Liquid from the first
dropdown list and Temperature from the second dropdown list, and set the Temperature
to 10 degC, as shown. When you move the cursor away from the Temperature field the
program will calculate the saturation pressure for this temperature and display it in the
Pressure field.
To define the process conditions for a material that is not held under saturation
conditions (e.g. a gas or a padded liquid), you must select both Temperature and Pressure
from the lists and give values for both.
The Scenario Tab Section
You use this tab section to
specify the type of hazardous
event you want to model. The
range of types available will
depend on the process
conditions you have specified.
There is only one Scenario
Type available for modelling
the rupture of a pressurised
vessel; this is Catastrophic
Rupture, which is selected by
default. The other scenarios are
either longer-duration releases,
or applicable only to insulated
tanks.
The vessel is out of doors, so
you can leave the Outdoor /
In-Building fields with the
default selection of Outdoor. If
you select In-Building
Release, the program will
model the build-up of
concentration inside the building and the dispersion calculations will start with the
state of the plume as it is released from the ventilation system.
The other fields in the tab section are not relevant to a rupture scenario. You can take
the default settings for all of the fields in this tab section.
The Pipe Tab Section
All of the fields in this tab section are disabled when the scenario is set to Rupture.
They are relevant only to the Line Rupture, Disc Rupture, Relief Valve and Long
Pipeline scenarios, as you will see later.
The Vessel Tab Section
All of the fields in this tab section are disabled when the scenario is set to Rupture. For
all of the other scenarios, some of the fields in the tab section will be enabled, with the
combination depending on the scenario as you will see later.
23
The Location Tab Section

First, set the release coordinates. The Elevation has a default value of 1 m, taken from
the System Parameters, but you should set this to 7.37 m, which is the elevation of the
centre of the sphere above the ground. Set the East co-ordinate to 198492 m, and the
North co-ordinate to 435063 m.
The program requires a criterion for stopping the dispersion calculations: either a
maximum distance, or a minimum concentration. For this tutorial, set the
Concentration of interest to 100 ppm. When you set this concentration, the Uses
averaging time field below the concentration will acquire a red border, showing that it
is mandatory; you must specify the averaging time to be used in the calculations for
stopping the dispersion. For a toxic release, the list allows you to choose the Toxic
averaging time or the times associated with the ERPG, IDLH or STEL measures of toxicity,
or to specify a User-defined time.
For this release, select the Toxic averaging time, which is set in the Toxic Parameters
and has a default value of 600 s.
The Location tab section allows you to select additional averaging times for which you
want concentration values. If you make any selections in the final section of the tab, the
results will be appear in the Averaging Times report, as you saw in the previous
chapter.
The Bund Data Tab Section
If there is a bund around the vessel and you want to take this into account in the
modelling of pool-spreading and evaporation, you can check the Bund exists box and
enter a description of the bund. For this sphere there is no bund, so you can leave the
tab section with the default values.
The Indoor/Outdoor Tab Section
All of the fields in this tab section are disabled then the scenario is a catastrophic
rupture outdoors. Some of the fields are enabled for the longer-duration scenarios as
you will see later, while others are enabled for in-building releases.
Flammable Tab Section
The fields in this tab section are disabled when the material is toxic only. For a
flammable release, they allow you to choose between the three models for a vapour
cloud explosion, and to choose between two models for jet fires.
The Toxic Parameters Tab Section
The fields in this tab section are used in
modelling the buildup of toxic concentration
inside a building, and the exposure of a person
inside the building.
By default, these calculations are set to Unselected
(i.e. they will not be performed), but for this
tutorial you should change them to Selected. The calculations require information about
the ventilation-rate for the building and about how long people remain in the building
after the cloud has passed and the concentration is lower outdoors than indoors. By
default these values will be taken from the Toxic parameters tab section for the Model,
but if you choose Wind Speed Dependent for the Ventilation Specification, then the values
will be taken from the data for the Weather, which means that the values may be
different for each weather.
24
For this tutorial, leave the Ventilation Specification with the default value of Case
Specified, and take the default values for the Building exchange rate and the Tail time.
The TNT, Multi Energy and Baker Strehlow Tab Sections
The fields in these tab section are disabled when the material is toxic only. They are
used in the modelling of a vapour cloud explosion.
The Discharge Parameters Tab Section
The fields in this tab section are always enabled, and take their default values from the
System Parameters. They are used in the discharge modelling for the Line Rupture,
Disc Rupture and Relief Valve scenarios, so are not relevant to this Model.
The Jet Fire, Pool Fire and Fireball Tab Sections
For a flammable release, these tab sections allow you to choose between options for
modelling each type of flame.
A Summary of the Input Data
The input process involves examining a large number of input fields, but the number
of values that you have to enter in order to complete the data for this Model is small, as
shown in the table below:
Tab Section
Material
Location
Toxic
parameters
Input Field
Discharge Material
Inventory
Process Conditions
Elevation
East Co-ordinate
North Co-ordinate
Concentration of
interest
Uses averaging time
Indoor Toxic
Calculations
Value
Chlorine
102 m3
Saturated Liquid at 10oC.
7.37 m
198492 m
435063 m
100 ppm
Toxic
Selected
The default scenario for a Vessel/Pipe Source Model is a catastrophic rupture out of
doors, so there is no need to change any settings in the Scenario tab section for this
particular Model.
If you have made all of these settings, the input data for the Model are now complete,
and you can click on OK to close the dialog. You should see that the icon no longer has
a red border, showing that it has a full set of input data.
25
Run the Calculations and View the Results

Select the Model and select Run Model from either the Run menu or the toolbar. When the
calculations are complete, view the graphs for all of the weathers.
You will see that there is no Pool Vaporisation tab in the Graph Window, which means
that the liquid in the release did not rain out; if you want more information about the
behaviour of the liquid droplets in the cloud, you should view either the Commentary
Report or the Dispersion Report.
The concentration graphs only ever show the outdoor concentration, but if you move
to the Toxic tab section you will see that the Probit, Lethality and Dose graphs display
separate results for indoor and outdoor effects, and that there are separate Footprint
graphs for outdoor and indoor effects. The Lethality graph shows that the greatest
downwind effect distance is for the F 1.5 m/s weather outdoors, with a distance of
about 2.5 km to a lethality level of 10%. The indoor effects for this weather reach about
2.25 km to 10% lethality. The shortest downwind effect distances are for D 5 m/s
indoors, which reaches about 1.3 km for a lethality level of 10%.
Defining the Second Release: Toxic Liquid from Pipework

The second release is from the same chlorine sphere, but the hazardous event is the
rupture of a one-inch liquid line attached to the bottom of the sphere, where the initial
liquid head will be 4.6 m. The line runs 4 m vertically downwards to 10 cm from the
ground, then 5 m horizontally to an isolation valve; the rupture is assumed to occur
just before the isolation valve.
Copy the First Model

Much of the input data for the vessel rupture is also applicable to the pipework failure,
so you can use copy and paste from the Edit menu or the right-click menu to create a
copy of the Rupture Model, also in the Toxic folder. Give the copy the name Cl2 Liquid
Pipework.
Setting the Input Data

Open the input dialog and set the input data as follows:
Material Tab Section
Leave this tab section with the same values as for the rupture, since the material and
process conditions are the same as for the rupture.
Scenario Tab Section
Set the Scenario Type to Line Rupture, and the Phase to be Released to Liquid.
The line rupture scenario models the full-bore rupture of pipework attached to a
vessel, and the discharge calculations take into account the effect of friction in the flow
from the vessel to the point of rupture. To model a release from the body of the vessel,
with no frictional losses in the discharge, you would choose the Leak scenario.
When the vessel contains saturated liquid, you will be offered a choice of release-phase
for the line rupture scenario: a vapour release from the top of the vessel, or a liquid
release from the bottom of the vessel. The list of phases includes two-phase, but this
is only enabled for the disc rupture and relief valve scenarios, for modelling overfilling of the vessel.
26
Pipe Tab Section

The Pipe Length is the length of
pipework between the vessel
and the point of rupture, and
you should set it to 9 m as
shown.
To set the Internal Diameter to one inch, click on mm
to the right of the field, and then select in from the list
of units that appears as shown. You can then enter the
diameter directly in inches, rather than having to
perform the conversion yourself into the default unit of
mm.
Leave the pipe roughness with the default value taken from the System Parameters.
The number of valves is used in the modelling of frictional losses, and you can leave
them as zero.
The other fields in the tab section are relevant only to the long pipeline scenario, and
are all disabled for the line rupture scenario.
Vessel Tab Section
For the line rupture scenario
and most of the other scenarios
that involve a continuous
release, the Time Varying
Release option will be enabled
in the Vessel tab section.
If you do not check this option,
then the release will be
modelled with the initial
release rate, and the duration
will be the time required to
drain the inventory at this
initial rate. This will normally
give conservative results in the
consequence calculations.
If you select the time-varying
option, then you must supply
information about the
dimensions of the vessel. The
discharge calculations will
model the effect of the release
on conditions in the vessel and
the way that these conditions and the release rate change over time, and will represent
these time-varying results either with a single rate (e.g. an average rate, or a rate at a
particular time) or with a series of rates, depending on your selection for the Rates
versus time.
For this release, you will perform an initial run of the discharge calculations with the
time-varying modelling selected, then examine the results and decide on the most
appropriate way to represent the behaviour for the rest of the consequence analysis.
27
Set the Liquid Head to 4.6 m, select the Time Varying Release option, set the Tank
Type to Spherical, the Height of Discharge to zero, and the Diameter to 6.74 m. Leave
the Rates versus time set to the default selection of Average rate with an averaging
time of 3600 s; you can return to make a final selection after you have viewed the
discharge results.
Location Tab Section
Set the Elevation to 0.1 m. With this setting, the liquid droplets will probably not
evaporate inside the cloud, and will probably rain out and form a vaporising pool.
Leave the other fields with the same values as for the rupture. In reality, the releaselocation would be offset by a few metres from the centre of the sphere but this
difference is insignificant compared with the effect distances for chlorine and can be
ignored
Bund Data Tab Section
Leave this unchanged, with no bund specified.
Indoor/Outdoor Tab Section
For a continuous release scenario such as line rupture you must specify the Direction
of the release. Choose Horizontal from the list, which is the correct setting for this type of
unobstructed rupture of horizontal pipework.
The list of directions includes a second horizontal option: Horizontal Impingement. You
should select this option if the release is in a congested area and the release is likely to
impinge on a wall or other equipment; the program will reduce the momentum of the
release, which will reduce the amount of air mixed into the jet during the initial stages.
Discharge Parameters
There is one bend in the 9 m of pipework, so you can set the Frequency of Bends to
0.11 per m.
This completes the input data for this stage, and you can click on OK to close the input
dialog.
Running the Discharge Calculations

Select the Model and then select Run Discharge from the Run menu, the right-click menu
or the toolbar. This will run the discharge calculations alone, without peforming the
dispersion and effects calculations. The calculations may take several minutes,
depending on the speed of your machine.
When the results are complete, view the reports and move to the TV Discharge Report.
The rate drops by less than 3% in two hours of release, so the time-varying behaviour
can be ignored for this release. There are two options for bypassing the time-varying
discharge modelling in this situation:
1: Use the Averaged Discharge Results to Create a User-Defined Source Model
When you performed the discharge calculations, the program calculated the average
rate over the first 3600 s, and this is the representative rate given in the Discharge
Report. If you decide that you want to use this average rate rather than the initial rate,
you should select the Model, then select Create Source from the Edit menu or the rightclick menu.
28
The program will show a list of the weather conditions

for which you performed the discharge calculations and
for which it has results, and when you select one of these
weathers the program will create a User-Defined Source
Model with the name Calculated Discharge, as shown.
The User-Defined Source Model has many of the same tab
sections as the Vessel/Pipe Model, but instead of the
Scenario and Vessel tab sections it has a Discharge tab
section in which you specify the discharge rate and conditions directly, since the UserDefined Source Model does not perform any discharge modelling itself. The Calculated
Discharge Model will be created with Discharge data taken from the averaged results
from the Liquid Pipework Model, but you can edit these values if you choose.
2: Edit the Model and Deselect Time-Varying Release
This is the simplest method for bypassing the time-varying discharge modelling if you
decide that you want to use the initial rate to represent the entire release, and this is the
method that will be used for this tutorial. The discharge calculations for this Model will
run much more quickly with the time-varying option turned off.
After this adjustment, the final set of input data for this Model can be summarised as
follows, not including the values that are the same as those for the rupture model:
Tab Section
Scenario
Pipe
Vessel
Location
Input Field
Scenario Type
Phase Released
Pipe Length
Internal Diameter
Time-Varying Release?
Tank Head
Elevation
Frequency of Bends
Value
Line Rupture
Liquid
9m
1 inch
Not selected
4.6 m
0.1 m
0.11 per m
The default direction for a line rupture scenario is Horizontal, so there is no need to
change any settings in the Indoor/Outdoor tab section for this particular Model.
Run the Consequence Calculations and View the Results

Select the Model and select Run Model from either the Run menu or the toolbar. When the
calculations are complete, view the graphs for all of the weathers.
You will see that there is a Pool Vaporisation tab in the Graph Window, which means
that the liquid in the release did rain out. If you view the reports and look at the
Commentary Report, you will see that rainout fraction is only about 1%, so the
formation and behaviour of the pool will have little effect on the dispersion or toxic
effects.
In the Toxic Lethality graph, the greatest effect distances are for the F 1.5 m/s weather
outdoors, with a distance of 900 m to a lethality level of 10%, which is approximately a
third of the distance reached by the catastrophic rupture. The least stable night-time
condition, D 5 m/s, reaches only 350 m for 10% lethality outdoors.
29
Defining the Third Model: Toxic Vapour from Pipework

The vapour release is the rupture of a two-inch pipe attached to the top of the sphere.
The line runs 3.4 m horizontally, then vertically downwards, and the rupture is
assumed to occur 1 m from the ground.
Create the Model as a copy of the Liquid Pipework Model, rename the copy to Cl2 Vapor
Pipework, and change the input data as follows:
Tab Section
Scenario
Pipe
Location
Indoor/Outdoor
Input Field
Phase Released
Pipe Length
Internal Diameter
Elevation
Direction
Frequency of Bends
Value
Vapour
13 m
2 inch
1m
Down Impinging on
the Ground
0.08 per m
When the phase is set to Vapour in the Scenario tab section, the Building Wake Effect
fields will become enabled. The sphere is in an open area so building-wake effects are
not relevant to this release, and you can leave these options unchecked.
The release rate from the two-inch vapour line is similar to that from the one-inch
liquid line, and the two pipework releases give very similar effect distances.
Defining Three Flammable Releases

There is a propane sphere at the far north of the site. The propane sphere has the same
dimensions as the chlorine sphere and the same design of pipework, and is also
operating under saturation conditions at atmospheric temperature.
Setting the Input Data for the Models

You can define the rupture and the two pipework failures by copying the three toxic
Models and simply changing the selection of discharge material and the eastern coordinates.
Copying the Models
Select the Toxic folder, copy and paste it, and name the copy Flammable. In the name for
each Model, change Cl2 to C3.
Changing the Material Selection
Open the input dialog, click on the button with three dots to the right of the Discharge
Material field, and change the selection from CHLORINE to PROPANE. The list of
materials is arranged alphabetically, and you can move quickly to PROPANE by clicking
in the list and then typing P, which will take you to the first material with this initial
letter.
When you return to the Materials tab section you will see that the program has
recalculated the saturation pressure at 10oC and also the mass for the inventory.
You must make this change for each of the three Models.
30
Changing the Location and Concentration of Interest

When you move to the Location tab section, you will see that the Toxic averaging time is
no longer set for Uses averaging time and that this field is now shown as unset and
mandatory. The material is flammable only so the Toxic averaging time is not included
in the list, and the program is prompting you to make a different selection for the
calculations of the stopping-concentration.
For a flammable release you would not
want to calculate the concentration to a
value as low as 100 ppm, since the cloud
will not pose a hazard once it has diluted
below the lower flammable limit of 2% or
20,000 ppm. You could set this
concentration yourself, but for a
flammable release you can also leave the
Concentration of interest blank, as
shown, and the program will automatically stop the dispersion calculations once the
concentration has reached a given fraction of the LFL as calculated with the Flammable
averaging time. By default the fraction is 50%, but you can change this in the
Flammable Parameters if you prefer.
For this tutorial, delete the value for the Concentration of interest, and set the East and
North coordinates as shown above.
You must make this change for each of the three Models.
Setting the Input Data for the Fire Modelling

If you move to the Jet Fire, Pool Fire or Fireball tab sections, you will see that three
levels of radiation intensity are specified, but that the calculations for radiation dose,
probit and lethality are all unselected. These calculations are not selected by default
because they can be time-consuming, so you would normally only select them if you
know that you need them for a particular analysis or a particular Model.
For this tutorial you will set the lethality calculations to Selected and specify five levels
of lethality but you will do this in the Parameters instead of in the Model data, since
this is the most efficient method if you want to set values that will be used by all
Models.
Move to the Parameters tab in the
Study Tree, open the input dialog for
the Jet Fire Parameters, and set the
Radiation Lethality data as shown.
After you have clicked on OK to close
the dialog you will see that the Jet Fire
Parameters icon no longer has a green
border, which shows that not it is not
using the values set in the System
Parameters for all of the fields.
Next, open the input dialog for the Pool Fire Parameters, and set the same values for
Radiation Lethality.
Finally, open the input dialog for the Fireball and BLEVE Blast Parameters, and set the
same values.
31
If you move to the Models tab of the Study Tree and look at the Jet Fire, Pool Fire or
Fireball tab sections for any of the flammable Models, you will see that the lethality
calculations are now selected, with the five levels set.
Running the Consequence Calculations and viewing the Results

Select the Flammable folder and use the Run Models option to run the calculations for all
three Models.
You can also view the results for all three
Models at once. Select the Flammable folder
and then select View Graphs. A Plot Setup
dialog will appear, prompting you for the
Weather for which you want to view results.
When you are viewing results for multiple
Models you can only choose a single
Weather, so the Weathers have radio buttons
beside them, whereas they have check boxes
beside them when you are viewing results for
a single Model. Select the 1.5/F Weather,
which should give the greatest effect
distances for dispersion.
The Graph Window contains tab sections for
Concentration graphs, as with the toxic
Models, but it contains Jet Fire, Fireball and
Flash Fire tab sections instead of the Toxic tab section. The propane releases do not
produce any liquid rainout, so there are no Pool Fire tab sections.
The main features of the graphs are described below.
Jet Fire Graphs
The Jet Fire tab section contains three graphs, which are presenting results for the two
pipework failures. The first graph shows radiation level versus distance, the second
shows Intensity Radii to the lowest of the three radiation levels set in the Parameters (4
kW/m2), and the third graph shows Lethality Radii to a lethality level of 1%, which is
the lowest of the five lethality levels that you set in the parameters. The maximum
downwind effect distance shown in these graphs is just less than 25 m, which is the
distance for 4 kW/m2 for the liquid release.
If a given Fire Radii graph is showing results for more than one Model or more than
one Weather, then it will only plot a single level, which will be the lowest level set for
that type of result (e.g. the lowest intensity level, or the lowest lethality level). If you
want to see results for all of the levels, then you must view the graphs for a single
Model and Weather.
Fireball Graphs
The Bleve (or Fireball) tab section also contains three graphs. These are showing results
only for the rupture, and this means that the two Radii graphs are able to show the
results for more than one level. The maximum downwind effect distance is about 560
m, to a radiation level of 4 kW/m2, and the distance to a.lethality level of 1% is about
290 m. There is no ellipse for a lethality level of 100%, because the fireball does not
produce the necessary radiation dose at the height of interest (set to ground level in the
Flammable Parameters).
32
Explosion Graphs
The two Early Explosion graphs contain results only for the Rupture, since immediate
explosions are assumed not to occur for continuous releases. However, the Late
Explosion graphs contain results for all three Models.
The Late Explosion Worst Case graph shows the effect radii for the explosion-time
which gives the greatest downwind distance for the lowest overpressure set in the
Explosion Parameters (0.02 bar), and the legend for the Late Explosion Time graph
gives the time at which the worst-case explosion occurs. The greatest downwind effect
distances is 1,100 m, for the Rupture, and it occurs at 11.2 s.
Flash Fire Graph
The Flash Fire Graph shows the zone for the cloud at the time that it covers the
maximum area. For the rupture, this gives a maximum downwind effect distance of
350 m to 10,000 ppm, whereas for the two pipework releases this gives a distance of
about 70 m to the same concentration. 10,000 ppm is 50% of the LFL, which is the
fraction set by default in the Flammable Parameters as the boundary of the flash fire
effect zone.
Alternative Methods for Modelling Early Explosions

When you were setting the input data for the flammable Models you left the
Flammable tab section with the default settings, which means that the early explosion
for Rupture was modelled with the default method, which is the TNT method.
In this section you will create versions of the Rupture Model that use the other methods
for modelling early explosions, and compare the results.
Creating the Model Icons
Insert a folder inside the Flammable folder, and name it Rupture.
Drag the Rupture Model inside this folder and then create two copies of the Model.
Rename the original Model TNT, name the first copy Multi-Energy, and the second copy
Baker-Strehlow.
Setting the Inputs for the TNT Explosion Method
For the TNT Model, move to the TNT tab section to check the input data for the
modelling.
You can leave the Explosion Efficiency with the default
value, but for this Model you should set the location to
Ground burst, which means that you are assuming that the
explosion is sufficiently close to the ground that there will be reflection effects in the
pressure waves.
Click on OK to close the dialog for the TNT Model.
Setting the Inputs for the Multi-Energy Explosion Method
Open the input dialog for the Multi-Energy Model, move to the Flammable tab section,
and choose TNO Multi-Energy as the Explosion Method.
Next, move to the Multi Energy tab section, where you can define up to seven regions
of confinement within the cloud and also specify the strength of an explosion in the
unconfined regions of the cloud.
33
By default there are no confined regions selected, which means that there are no
mandatory fields in the tab section and that the Model will run even if you do not set
any values in the tab section but it also means that by default the Model will not
produce any explosion results.
For this tutorial you will define three
regions of confinement, each occupying
30% of the volume of the cloud, and with
a range of confinement strengths between
6 and 8, as shown. Values of 8 and 9 are
typically used for process units, but the
region around the propane sphere is
relatively open.
The strength of an explosion in the
unconfined region of the cloud will be 2,
as shown.
Click on OK to close the dialog for the Multi-Energy Model.
Setting the Inputs for the Baker-Strehlow Explosion Method
Open the input dialog for the Baker Strehlow Model, move to the Flammable tab section,
and choose Baker Strehlow as the Explosion Method.
Next, move to the Baker-Stehlow tab section. This tab section contains many
mandatory fields, and you must complete this tab section before you can run the
Model.
For this tutorial, use the option to have the
program calculate the speed of the flame (rather
than supplying it yourself). For a propane release
you should set the Material Reactivity to Medium,
and for this release you should set the number of
dimensions for the Flame Expansion to 2, and the
Obstacle Density to Medium, as shown.
The release is relatively close to the ground and
there is likely to be some reflection of the
pressure-waves off the ground, so you should set
the Ground Reflection Factor to 1.6. Finally, the volume of the cloud assumed to be
involved in the explosion is 500 m3.
Click on OK to close the dialog for the Baker-Strehlow Model.
Select the Rupture folder, run the calculations, and then view the graphs for the 1.5/F
Weather.
In the Early Explosion Distance graph, the Baker-Strehlow Model has the highest peak
overpressure, of about 1.02 barg, but the pressure declines rapidly with distance and
there are no effects beyond about 300 m. The TNT Model produces a peak pressure of 1
barg and the pressure declines less rapidly with distance, so the pressure at 300 m is 0.2
barg, and there are effects out to 1,400 m. For the Multi-Energy Model, the graph shows
results only for the unconfined region of the cloud, for which the peak overpressure is
only about 0.02 barg.
34
However, in the Early Explosion Radii graph the results shown for the Multi-Energy
Model are those for the worst case, and in this comparison the Multi-Energy Model gives
the greatest effect distances of the three Models, with a distance of about 2 km to 0.02
barg.
If you view the graphs for the Multi-Energy Model on its own and select only the 1.5/F
Weather, you will be able to see separate Early Explosion Distance results for each of
the regions in the cloud. These results show that the over-pressure levels close to the
release are very strongly dependent on the value that you set for the strength of
confinement.
This analysis shows that, for this release, the default TNT method gives results that are
close to the multi-energy results with a medium strength of confinement (i.e. with a
strength of 7). It seems reasonable and simplest - to take the default method as
representative for this analysis.
Flammable Releases from a Rail Tank Wagon

The propane is delivered to the facility by tank wagon from a marshalling yard 10 km
to the north. The deliveries take place once a week, involving two tank wagons, and
are always during the day and never at night. The wagons are 10.6 m in length, 2.6 m
in diameter with a volume of 54 m3, are raised 0.5 m above the ground, and are
delivered with a fill-level of 80%. The propane is under the same conditions as in the
sphere: under saturation conditions at atmospheric temperature (taken as 10oC).
There are many hazardous events that could be modelled for the tank wagons,
including leaks during the unloading process. This tutorial will consider only the
rupture of a wagon under normal operating conditions, a leak from the liquid side of a
wagon, and a fireball produced by catastrophic rupture of a wagon under flame
impingement. All events are assumed to occur while the wagons are at the unloading
point 100 m south of the propane sphere.
Defining the Rupture of the Wagon

First, create a folder and name it Tank Wagon, and then copy the TNT Model from the
Rupture folder, which you will use as the starting point for defining the release. Name
the Model Wagon Rupture.
Open the input dialog and set the data as follows:
Tab Section
Material
Location
Input Field
Inventory
Elevation
North co-ordinate
Value
43.2 m3
1.8 m
435581 m
Defining the Leak from the Liquid Side of a Wagon

Copy the Rupture Model and name the copy Wagon Liquid Leak, and then open the input
dialog and set the data as follows:
Tab Section
Scenario
Vessel
Location
Indoor/Outdoor
Input Field
Scenario Type
Hole Diameter
Tank Head
Elevation
Direction
Value
Leak
1 inch
1.95 m
0.5 m
Down Impinging on the Ground
35
For a release from the body of a vessel rather than from attached pipework, you should
set the Scenario Type to Leak. This will give a larger discharge rate since there are no
frictional losses during the flow to the leak-location. For the leak scenario, you specify
the leak-size in the Scenario tab section.
The leak is assumed to be at the bottom of the tank, which is the most conservative
assumption for the tank head and the duration.
Defining the Fireball Failure under Flame Impingement

The program allows you to model immediate-ignition effects from fireballs and
poolfires on their own, separated from any modelling of dispersion and delayedignition effects, and you do this by using the Fireball Model or Poolfire Model rather
than the Source Models.
Select the Tank Wagon folder, then select the option to insert a Fireball Model. Name the
Model Wagon Fireball, then open the input dialog and set the data as follows:
Tab Section
Material
Fireball Shape
Radiation Data
Input Field
Material
East Location
North Location
Burst Pressure
Released Mass
Mass Vapour Fraction
Radiation vs Distance
Maximum Distance
Angle from Wind
Height above Origin
Radiation Ellipse
Incident Radiation
Value
PROPANE
197327 m
435581 m
8.57 barg
22.2e3 kg
0.25
Selected
500 m
0 degrees
0m
Selected
4 kW/m2
The Burst Pressure is 60% greater than the normal operating pressure and is used in
calculating the surface emissive power of the fireball.
The Fireball Shape tab section gives you the choice between using a correlation to
obtain the radius, duration and emissive power, or entering your own values. For this
Model, you are using the correlation.
The dialog also contains a Contour Data tab section that allows you to define a plane
and up to three radiation levels for which you want contour results.

Run the calculations for the Tank Wagon folder and then view the graphs for the 1.5/F
Weather, and then examine the Bleve or fireball results.
The Fireball Model gives slightly larger effect distances than the Rupture Model, with a
distance of about 460 m to 4 kW/m2 compared with 440 m. This shows the effect of the
higher vessel pressure used in the Fireball Model to model failure under flame
impingement, whereas the Rupture Model considers a rupture under normal operating
conditions which then has a probability of igniting immediately and giving fireball
effects.
36
Saving the Study Folder with the Results

You have now completed the tutorial, and you should save the Study Folder in order
to save the changes you have made.
By default, the program will only save the input data, which means that the next time
you open the Study Folder, you will have to rerun the calculations in order to view the
full results. However, if you select the Save As option from the File menu, the Save As
dialog will contain an option to Save results as well as your input data. If you select
this option, the program will save the full set of consequence results and you will be
able to view the results immediately the next time you open the Study Folder
although you should be aware that the file may be large, e.g. 25 MB or more.
What Next?
This tutorial has not covered every feature of the program, but you should now have
enough of an understanding of the approach and methods used in the program to be
able to explore the remaining features yourself, with the assistance of the online Help.
If you need further details on any aspect of the program, or if you need guidance on
how to model a particular situation for your facility, you should contact product
support using the details given under Product Support in the Help menu.
37
DNV SOFTWARE
PHAST Getting Started Manual

Chapter 1: A Quick Tour of the Main Features

Chapter 1: A Quick Tour of the Main Features
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................... 1
Starting PHAST .................................................................................................................. 2
The PHAST Window.......................................................................................................... 3
Opening an Example Study Folder ..................................................................................... 4
The Study Tree Pane........................................................................................................... 5
Viewing Input Data............................................................................................................. 9
Running the Calculations.................................................................................................. 17
Viewing the Results .......................................................................................................... 18
Saving the Example Study Folder..................................................................................... 23
Introduction
This manual will lead you through the main features of PHAST and PHAST Micro, by
opening a pre-defined case so that you can view input data, run calculations and examine
the results.
All Examples are from PHAST Micro

There are two versions of PHAST, and this manual covers both of them. PHAST Micro
is the simpler version, containing DNVs sophisticated dispersion modelling in full, but
with some limitations to the options in other areas of the modelling. PHAST is the fullyfeatured version, offering control over most aspects of the modelling, and including
stand-alone versions of the fire, explosion and pool vaporization models that are built into
the integrated dispersion modelling.
All of the examples in this chapter are based on PHAST Micro and are fully applicable
to that version. If you are using PHAST, you will see some features in your program that
do not appear in the illustrations and are not described in the text. Instruction on these
features are given in the PHAST Introductory Training Course. For details on the
PHAST training courses please contact your local Technical Support centre.
Page 1 of 25
Starting PHAST
When you install PHAST, the installation routine places a DNV folder under Programs
in your Start menu, and you can start PHAST running by selecting the icon from the
folder.
The start menu
The installation routine also places a PHAST icon on the desktop so you can also start
Page 2 of 25
The PHAST Window

When you start PHAST running, the PHAST Window will open, as shown:
The PHAST Window on Startup
The window opens with no Study Folder loaded (a Study Folder is a file that contains
the definition of a collection of consequence modelling calculations and you must open
or create a Study Folder file before you can perform any modelling work with PHAST).
In the Message Log, the program reports on the security checks, with either Security
OK or Security failed.
If the security has failed, you will not be able to save any changes to input data or run any
of the calculations, although you will be able to view the features of the program that do
not involve calculations. If you have problems with your security please contact your
local Technical Support office. This manual assumes that the security has been set up
correctly.
Page 3 of 25
Opening an Example Study Folder

In this chapter, you will open one of the Example Study Folders that are supplied with the
program for a quick introduction to the terminology and approach used in PHAST. In
the next chapter you will create a new Study Folder and perform a simple worst case
analysis.
To open an Example Study Folder, choose Open Example from the File menu.
A dialog will appear as shown,
listing the Example Study Folders
supplied, each of which has the file
extension PSU. Choose the Study
Folder called Example, which is
one of the simplest, supplied.
When you click on Open, you will
be returned to the PHAST window.
Some messages will appear in the
Message tab section in the Log
Window pane along the bottom of
Choosing the Example Study Folder
the window, reporting on the process
of opening and checking the Study Folder, and then the Study Tree pane will open
along the left side of the window, showing the structure of the Example Study Folder, as
in the illustration below.
The PHAST Window with a Study Folder Open
Page 4 of 25
The Study Tree Pane

The Study Tree Pane allows you to organize and edit the values that are used in the
calculations. It appears along the left side of the window whenever you have a Study
Folder open, as shown in the illustration on the previous page. If you close the Study
Folder, the pane will disappear.
The pane contains a number of tab sections, each of which covers a different type of
input data:
Models Tab Section

You use this tab section to add Models to the Study Folder, where each Model
represents a different hazardous release for processing through the consequence
modelling. The illustration on the previous page shows the eight models in the Example
Study Folder; the first four represent different release scenarios for a chlorine vessel, and
the last four represent the equivalent scenarios for a butadiene vessel.
This tab section contains a tree with several levels. The top level represents the entire
Study Folder, with the name Example. If you click on the icon for the Study Folder, you
will see that the red Study icon becomes enabled in the Toolbar:
You can use this icon to add a Study to the tree, and this can be useful if your Study
Folder contains hundreds of models and you want to organize them in different groups.
For a simple Study Folder such as the Example Study Folder, a single Study (also named
Example) is sufficient.
The Study is the second level of the tree, and each new Study Folder is always created
with one Study already defined, since each model must be assigned to a Study. If you
click on the icon for a Study, you will see that the Folder icon and the blue Vessel and
Pipe Source Model icon become enabled in the Toolbar:
You can use the Folder icon to organize models within a Study, and you can have
multiple levels of Folders; the simple Example Study Folder does not use any folders.
You use the Model icon to add a new Model to the Study Folder, placing it inside the
current Study, or the current Folder. It is probably the most important tool in PHAST,
and you will use it in Tutorial 1, in the next chapter.
Page 5 of 25
Weather Tab Section

Click on the Weather tab to move
to the Weather tab section. This
tab section shows the weather
conditions that have been defined
and can be used in the
consequence modelling. You can
define any number of weather
conditions and then select
between them for a particular run
of the consequence calculations.
The tree in the Weather tab
section shares the top levels of its
structure with the tree in the
Models tab section, so that if you
add a Study to the Study Folder in
Weather Tab Section
either section then it will appear in
the tree in the other section. However, the lower levels are not shared, and you can have
different structures of Folders in each tab section.
If you click on the icon for a Study, you will see that the Folder icon and the yellow and
blue Weather icon become enabled in the Toolbar:
You use the Weather icon to add a new definition of weather conditions to the Study
Folder, placing it inside the current Study, or the current Folder. However, each new
Study Folder is created with three default weathers already defined, and for most work it
may be sufficient to edit these, rather than creating any additional weathers.
Parameters Tab Section

If you are running PHAST you will see a parameter tab in your Study Tree. The
parameters are not available to view or edit in PHAST Micro.
Page 6 of 25
Materials Tab Section

Click on the Materials tab to
move to the Materials tab section.
The Materials Property system in
PHAST is based around a three
level hierarchy, with only the
bottom two levels of the hierarchy
visible in the Materials tab
section.
Materials
Tab Section
The top level is the System level, which is the central store for all PHAST Property data
supplied with the program, and which is not visible in the Materials tab section. If your
copy of PHAST is installed on a network, then the System values will also be on the
network, and will be shared between all people using PHAST network data. The System
values can only be changed by an Administrator using the special administration options,
which are described in the online Help.
The next level is the Global level, which applies to an entire Study Folder. When you
add a material to Global Materials folder in the Materials tab section, PHAST creates a
copy of the material inside that Study Folder, using the values from the System level as
defaults. PHAST will add a material to the Global list the first time you use it in a Study
Folder, but you can also add materials yourself, using the two Materials icons that appear
in the Toolbar when you have the Global Materials folder selected in the Materials tab
section:
The Example Study Folder only uses two materials in its modelschlorine and
butadienebut you can see that there are many more in the Global list, and these were
added using the icons in the Toolbar.
You can edit the values for the Global version of the material, as described later in this
chapter, and these edits will be used throughout the Study Folder.
The lowest level in the hierarchy is the Local level. PHAST creates a Local Materials
folder for each Study in the Study Folder, and you use these if you want to create a
version of a particular material that will be used only by that Study, while all other
Studies use the Global version. You can add a material to the Local Materials folder
Page 7 of 25
either by copying and pasting from the Global list using the Edit menu, or by using the
Materials icons that appear in the Toolbar when you select the Local Materials folder.
PHAST knows which fields for the Local material have not been edited and therefore
still have the default values taken from the Global level. If you edit a field for a Global
material, PHAST will update the field for any Local versions that are still using the
Global default.
Map Tab Section

Click on the Map tab to move to
the Map tab section. This tab
section shows the maps that have
been defined and on which you
can superimpose consequence
results. You can define any
number of maps and then select
between them when viewing a
particular set of consequence
results.
The tree in the Map tab section
shares the top levels of its
structure with the trees in the
Models and Weather tab sections,
Map Tab Section
so that if you add a Study to the Study Folder in any section then it will appear in the tree
in the other sections. However, the lower levels are not shared, and you can have
different structures of Folders in each tab section.
If you click on the icon for a Study, you will see that the Folder icon and the Map icon
become enabled in the Toolbar:
You use the Map icon to add a new Map to the Study Folder, placing it inside the current
Study, or the current Folder. Each new Study Folder is created without any Map defined,
so you must create a new Map if you want to view any map-based results.
Page 8 of 25
Viewing Input Data

The section above described the organization of the different types of input data, and this
section describes how to open the dialogs for the input data and view the values that are
set for the Example Study Folder. In the next chapter, you will set values when working
on a tutorial analysis.
Setting the Default Units

Before you start viewing the input data, you should set the default units for PHAST to
your preferred system of units. As you will see later, you can change the units for a given
item of data from inside the input dialogs, but it is much easier to set a default system that
will be used throughout PHAST, including any dialogs and results.
To set the default system, choose Select Another System from the Units cascade in
the Options menu. A dialog will appear, as shown in the illustration on the next page.
PHAST is supplied with four
predefined systems of units, but
you can also edit these to create
your own. At this stage, simply
choose the pre-defined system that
is closest to your preferences, and
click on Make selected system
current to set this as the default
system throughout PHAST. The
examples in this chapter use the
USER system, which are mostly
Metric units.
Setting Default Units
Page 9 of 25
Getting Help on the Input Data

PHAST has a large set of input data. This gives it the flexibility to model a wide range
of releases and situations, but can be confusing at first. If you are unsure of the purpose
of a particular dialog or field, you can use the context-sensitive online Help to get a
description.
Most dialogs have a Help button at the bottom right. When you click on this, the Help
window will appear, with the Help topic for that dialog displayed in the right-hand pane,
as shown:
Online Help on a Dialog
Most dialogs also have a Whats This Help button in the form of a question mark at the
right of the title bar:
A Whats This Help button in a Title Bar
If you click on this button, the cursor will change to a question mark, showing that you
are in Whats This Help
mode, and if you then click
on a field in the dialog, a
popup window will appear
over the field, describing
the field and giving advice
on values, as shown here.
Whats This Help on an input field
Page 10 of 25
The popup window will disappear the next time you click with the mouse.
You will see both of these features in the dialogs that are described below.
You can also bring up the Whats This Help for a field by pressing the F1 key while the
cursor is on that field. In addition, if you press the F1 key again while the Whats This
Help is being displayed, the Help window will appear, displaying the Help Topic for the
dialog, as described on the previous page. You may find the F1 key more convenient
than the buttons for accessing the Help system.
Input Data for a Model

In the Models tab section, double-click on the icon for the CL2 RUPTURE model. The
Model Data dialog will open, as shown in the illustration on the next page.
The full set of input data is large, and is divided over many tab sections. The illustration
shows the tab section for Material data, where you set the material that is released, the
amount released, and the process or storage conditions at the time of the accidental event
which leads to the release.
Input Data for the Cl2 RUPTURE Model
Page 11 of 25
Although the full set of data is large, you do not have to decide on and enter a value for
every item of data in order to model a release; PHAST is supplied with default values for
many of the items, and if you accept these default values, then you can define a release
easily and quickly.
Input Data for Weather

In the Weather tab section, double-click on the icon for Weather 1, and the dialog will
open as shown.
Input Data for the Weather 1 Weather Condition
The set of input data is much smaller than for a model, and the most important items are
in the Weather Data tab section. All of the items in the Atmospheric Parameters tab
section take their initial values from the defaults system, so you can either accept the
default value, or enter your own.
Page 12 of 25
You can tell that the Atmospheric Parameters tab section takes all of its values from the
default system without even moving to it, because PHAST uses italic lettering for the
headings of all such tabs. When a tab has italic lettering, you know that there are no
fields on that tab section that you have to complete before you can use the Weather (or
Model, or Material) in a calculation; however, if the heading of a tab section uses bold
letteringsuch as the Weather Data tab sectionthen this tells you that there are fields
in the tab section that are initially blank, and that you must complete. This system of
lettering can be useful when you want to obtain preliminary results quickly.
Input Data for Materials

In the Material tab section, double-click on the icon for CHLORINE.
The set of input data for Chlorine is very large, and some of it is very specialized and
technical. If you want to add a new material to the properties system in PHAST, you
will have to gather and enter a lot of information before you can use the material in the
calculations. However, since PHAST is supplied with full data for a large number of
materials, it is unlikely that you will ever need to define a completely new material, and,
indeed, you may use PHAST for years without ever making any changes to any materials
data.
Input Data for Chlorine
Page 13 of 25
You are most likely to use the Materials tab section for defining a Mixturemade up of
existing Pure materialsand for looking up property data. You can refer to the input
dialog to obtain the values of constant properties (i.e. those that are not a function of
conditions), and you can use the options in the Material cascade in the Run menu to
calculate properties at a given pressure and temperature (e.g. vapour density, saturation
conditions, etc.).
Input Data for Maps

When you double-click on the icon for Map of region around plant in the Maps tab
section, a separate window will open showing you the location and geometry of your map
file.
The Map Window
To actually view the map on your screen, you need to click on the globe in the Map
toolbar:
Page 14 of 25
The map will then appear, as shown below:
The Map Window
When entering a map

in your study you can
use a map with
header or
geographical data.
The Geographical
Information System
used in PHAST will
then place your map
automatically.
If you are not using a

Georeferenced map
or one with Header
data you must enter
The insert raster image window
Page 15 of 25
the map in Interactive mode. PHAST will automatically enable the Georeference and
Header data options if your map includes this information.
If you are using a flat map (without

Georeferenced or Header data) the
main information that you need is,
the location of the origin on the map,
and the scale for the map. You
define these after placing the map on
your screen, by right-clicking on the
selected map.
You will define a new map in the
next chapter, which gives details of
these operations.
Setting the scale and origin
Page 16 of 25
Running the Calculations

Direct Run of a Single Model, Folder or Study
To run a single Model, or to run all Models in a single Folder or Study, select that Model
(or Folder or Study) in the Models tab section and then choose Run Model(s) from the
right-click menu or Model(s) from the Run menu, or press Ctrl+M.
The Run Model(s) command processes all of the calculations, from discharge through
dispersion to flammable and toxic effects. If you want to run the discharge calculations
alone, without proceeding to the dispersion and effects calculations, select the Run
Discharge(s) command instead, or press Ctrl+D.
When you are running a single item in this way, the program performs the calculations
for the Weather conditions that are currently selected for the Batch Run.
Page 17 of 25
Viewing the Results

If the Study Folder contains Models that have been processed successfully through the
calculationsshown by the use of blue text for the names of the Modelsthen you can
view the results.
To view the results, select the Model in the Models tab section, and then select Report or
Graph from the View menu, or press Ctrl+R for the Report, or Ctrl+G for the Graph.
A single Report or Graph can display the results for more than one Model, but the options
for selecting the multiple Models are different for each, and described separately below.
Viewing the Reports

Reports are displayed in the Report Window, which appears in the free space inside the
PHAST Windowi.e. in the space not occupied by the Study Tree and the Log
Windowwhich is normally to the right of the Study Tree.
The Report Window
You can generate a Report that contains the results for more than one Model if the
Models are in the same folder or Study. Select the folder or Study and then use the
option to view the Report, and the program will generate a Report with the results for all
of the relevant Models.
Page 18 of 25
The window will contain several Reports, depending on the Model and the type of results
that are relevant to the Model. By default, the program will display all available reports,
but you can use Preferences... in the Options menu to exclude Reports that are not of
interest in the current analysis. The Reports and the options for displaying them are
described in more detail in the next chapter.
You use the tabs to move between the Reports.
Some Reports are long, and cover many pages. You can move between the pages of a
Report using the navigation buttons at the left of the Toolbar for the Report Window.
You can also move to a particular
part of the Report by using the
Report Tree at the left of the
window. When you expand the
tree, it shows the structure of the
Report, with the sections that cover
the different Models (if the Report
covers more than one Model), the
sections that cover each Weather
that was processed for the Model,
and the sections that cover the
different release segments for each
Weather, shown as 1, 2, 3, etc. in
the illustration.
The Expanded Report Tree
Most Models have a single release segment, but a Model may have more than one
segment if you used time-varying discharge modelling (which is an option in the Vessel
tab section of the input data), or if the release contains liquid that rains out to form a pool,
and the pool then evaporates, since the evaporation is treated as a form of time-varying
discharge.
To move to a particular part of the Report, click on that part in the Tree (e.g. segment 4
for Weather 1 in the illustration), and the program will move to the page that contains
the beginning of that part of the Report.
The other main feature of the Report Window is the Export button in the Toolbar. Use
the Export button to export the contents of the Report to an external file of a given format
(e.g. Excel, HTML, text).
The Export Button
Page 19 of 25
If the initial size of the window is small, you may

find it difficult to view the Reports clearly, and in
this case you should choose Full Screen from the
Window menu or from the Toolbar, since this option
expands the window to fill the entire screen. To
return from Full Screen to Normal mode, press
Ctrl+W, the escape key, or click on the
CloseToggle Full Screen button that is always
visible when you are in Full Screen mode.
The Window Menu
The Restore Button
You can have more than one Report Window open at any time. Use the Window menu to
switch between multiple Report Windows, or to arrange the windows so they are all
visible at the same time.
Viewing the Graphs

When you select Graph from the View menu, the Plot Setup dialog will appear,
prompting you to choose between the Weather conditions that have been modelled, and
to choose a Map on which to superimpose the footprint results.
Page 20 of 25
Choosing the Results to Plot
The list of Weathers will include all of the Weathers that have been defined for each
Study, and not just the Weathers that have been processed for the current Model. If you
select a Weather that has not been processed, an error message will appear when you
click on OK.
You can also choose the option to view a Graph from the Weather tab section of the
Study Tree. In this case, the Plot Setup dialog will contain a Model tab section instead of
a Weather tab section, and you can select multiple Models to plot for the Weather that is
currently selected in the Study Tree.
When you have chosen the items that you want to plot, the Graph Window will open in
the area to the right of the Study Tree. The Graph Window contains many Graphs, and
you move between them using the tabs. The Graphs and the options for displaying them
are described in more detail in the next chapter.
Page 21 of 25
The Graph Window
As with the Report Window, you can have more than one Graph Window open at a time,
and you use the Window menu to arrange the Graph Windows, and to switch to Full
Screen mode.
If you choose a single Weather and Model, the graphs will show the results for different
concentrations, distances and overpressures, as appropriate for the type of graph. If you
choose more than one Weather or Model, the graphs will show the results for a single
concentration, distance or overpressure for each Weather or Model.
Page 22 of 25
Saving the Example Study Folder

Although you have not made any changes to the input data for the Example Study
Folder, you have run the calculations. If you save the results with the rest of the Study
Folder data, then the next time you open the Example Study Folder, you will be able to
view the results immediately, without having to rerun the calculations.
You should leave the Example.PSU file from the Examples folder unchanged, so that
other users will be able to explore it in its original state. This means that you should not
use the Save option from the File menu, since this would overwrite the file in the
Examples folder. Instead, you should use the Save As... option from the File menu, so
that you can save the Study Folder to a different location, creating your own copy of it.
When you install PHAST, the installation program creates a folder to be the preferred
location for Study Folder data. The default name and location for this folder are
c:\DNVuser (if PHAST is installed on the c: drive), but you can set any name and
location during the installation. If you have access to this folder, you should use it for
your copy of the Example Study Folder.
Before clicking on Save, you should ensure that the Save results check box is ticked, as
shown in the illustration on the previous page. By default, PHAST does not save results
for the Example Study Folder or for any new Study Folder, and you must use Save
As... if you want to change this option.
The results can make the Study Folder files very large. Since the calculations usually run
very quickly, you may prefer to save your Study Folder files without the results, and then
rerun the calculations every time you open the files.
Saving the Example Study Folder
Page 23 of 25
DNV SOFTWARE

Chapter 2: Performing a Worst-Case Analysis

Chapter 2: Performing a Worst-Case Analysis
Table of Contents
Introduction..................................................................................................................................... 1
Starting PHAST .............................................................................................................................. 2
Introduction to the Analysis............................................................................................................ 3
Creating the Anysite Study Folder.................................................................................................. 6
Setting the Materials Input Data ..................................................................................................... 7
Setting the Weather Input Data..................................................................................................... 10
Setting the Map Data .................................................................................................................... 12
Defining the Ammonia Release .................................................................................................... 16
Defining the Hydrogen Cyanide Release...................................................................................... 21
Defining the Ethylene Release...................................................................................................... 22
Defining the Propylene Release.................................................................................................... 25
Viewing the List of Global Materials ........................................................................................... 26
Running the Calculations.............................................................................................................. 27
Viewing the Results ...................................................................................................................... 28
Summary of Worst Case Analysis ................................................................................................ 34
Introduction
This manual will lead you through the mail features of PHAST and PHAST Micro, by opening a
pre-defined case so that you can view both input data and results.
All Examples are from PHAST Micro

There are two versions of PHAST, and this manual covers both of them. PHAST Micro is the
simpler version, containing DNVs sophisticated dispersion modelling in full, but with some
limitations to the options in other areas of the modelling. PHAST is the fully-featured version,
offering control over most aspects of the modelling, and including stand-alone versions of the
fire, explosion and pool vaporization models that are built into the integrated dispersion
modelling.
All of the examples in this chapter are based on PHAST Micro and are fully applicable to that
version. If you are using PHAST, you will see some features in your program that do not appear
in the illustrations and are not described in the text. Instruction on these features are given in the
PHAST Introductory Training Course. For details on the PHAST training courses please contact
your local Technical Support centre.
Page 1 of 36
Starting PHAST
When you install PHAST, the installation routine places a DNV folder under Programs in your
Start menu, and you can start PHAST running by selecting the icon from the folder.
The DNV folder in the Start Menu
The installation routine also places a PHAST icon on the desktop so you can also start PHAST
running by clicking on the desktop icon.
Page 2 of 36
Introduction to the Analysis

In this chapter, you will perform a simple worst-case analysis for the Anysite chemical
installation, to determine whether releases on the site have the potential to reach populated areas
beyond the site boundary.
Hazardous Materials
There are four hazardous materials present on the site in significant quantities:
Material
Type of Hazard
Anhydrous ammonia
Hydrogen cyanide
Ethylene
Propylene
Toxic
Toxic
Flammable
Flammable
Mass Present
lb
tonne
40,000
18.1
5,000
2.3
50,000
22.7
75,000
34.0
Hazardous Inventory for Anysite Facility
Storage Conditions
The ethylene is stored under supercritical conditions, and the three other materials are stored
under saturation conditions. For the worst-case analysis, the materials will be modelled at the
maximum temperature experienced at the facility over the last five years, which is 90F (32C).
At this temperature, the storage pressures for the materials are as follows:
Material
Conditions
Anhydrous ammonia
Hydrogen cyanide
Ethylene
Saturation
Saturation
Supercritical
Storage Pressure
Psig
barg
180.1
12.4
18.7
1.3
700.0
48.3
Storage Conditions
Release Scenarios
Different scenarios will be modelled for the toxic and the flammable materials, since different
types of release cause the worst long-range effects.
For the two toxic materials, the release scenario will be a release of the entire inventory over ten
minutes, and for the two flammable materials, the scenario will be an instantaneous release of the
entire inventory.
For toxic releases, the duration and concentration profile at the populated areas are more
important than the total mass in the cloud at any given time. A large continuous release will give
Page 3 of 36
a greater duration of exposure than the equivalent instantaneous release. It may also take longer
to disperse to harmless concentrations, since air is mixed into the cloud from the sides only,
whereas air is mixed into an instantaneous release across all exposed surfaces.
For flammable releases, the greatest effect distances are usually produced by vapour cloud
explosions, and the size of these explosions depends on the flammable mass in the cloud at the
time of the explosionwhich will be greater for an instantaneous release than for a continuous
release.
Critical Effect Zones

For the toxic materials, the calculations will obtain the dispersion distances to the Emergency
Response and Planning Guidelines (ERPG) Level 2 concentration, which is the concentration that
nearly all individuals can be exposed to for up to an hour without experiencing any irreversible
adverse health effects or symptoms which could impair the ability to take protective action. For
ammonia, this concentration is set at 200 ppm, and for hydrogen cyanide, it is set at 10 ppm.
For the flammable materials, the calculations will obtain the explosion distances to an
overpressure of 1 psig, which is an overpressure that may cause injuries as a result of minor
structural damage (e.g. broken windows), but is unlikely to cause fatalities.
Weather Conditions
The calculations will use a windspeed of 5 ft/s (1.5 m/s) and an atmospheric stability of F, which
are common night-time conditions for the location. These conditions give low levels of
atmospheric turbulence, and the release may travel long distances before being diluted to a
harmless concentration.
The average humidity for the location is 70%, which is typical for a temperate, maritime location.
The calculations require a value for surface roughness, which is a measure of the turbulence
induced in the air as it moves over the ground, and will be set conservatively to 0.06, a value for
sea or for flat, treeless land. This assumes that the wind is blowing towards the town, and that the
surface conditions upwind of the release determine the surface roughness.
Page 4 of 36
Location of the Anysite Facility

As shown in the map, Anysite is a large, ocean-side facility, located in an industrial area, and
nearly two miles from the nearest residential area.
The Anysite Chemical Facility
Page 5 of 36
Creating the Anysite Study Folder

First, you must create a new Study Folder to store all
of your work on the Anysite facility. Close any
Study Folder that is currently open in PHAST, and
then select New from the File menu.
The program will create a new Study Folder called
Untitled with an empty Study called New Study.
Saving the Study Folder

You cannot save a Study Folder with the name
Untitled. Use either the Save or the Save As...
options in the File menu to save the new Study Folder
to the DNVuser directory with the name Anysite.PSU.
The New Study Folder

in the study pane
Renaming the Study

Click on the Study to select it, and then choose Rename from either the Edit menu or the rightclick menu. An insertion point will appear in the name of the Study, and you should edit this to
change it to Worst Case.
Using Program Preferences to Open the Study Folder Automatically

All of the tutorials in this manual use the Anysite Study Folder. If you do not perform the
tutorials in a single session, you will be returning to the Study Folder several times. The list of
recently-used Study Folders at the bottom of the File menu makes it easy to re-open a Study
Folder that you have been working on, but you can also use the Preferences for the program to
make this even easier.
Select Preferences... Installation from
the Options menu. The Preferences dialog
will appear, and you should set the option in
the Startup tab section to Try to open most
recently used file, as shown in the
illustration on the next page. If the file has
been deleted or moved, the program will
display a File Open dialog instead, so you
can locate the file yourself.
Setting the Preferences for Opening a Study
Folder Automatically
Page 6 of 36
Setting the Materials Input Data

In the database of System Materials supplied with the program, ammonia and hydrogen cyanide
are defined as being both flammable and toxic. However, for the worst case analysis, you are
only interested in the toxic effects, and you can simplify the input data and the results if you
define them as toxic only for this analysis. You do this by creating local copies of the materials,
and editing the property data.
If you wish, you can omit this stage, since it is not essential. However, you may find it useful as
a quick and straightforward introduction to the properties system.
Creating Local Versions of the Toxic Materials

Move to the Materials tab section of the Study Tree, select the Local Materials folder under the
Worst Case Study, and select Material... from the Insert menu. The Insert Material dialog will
appear, as shown in the illustration below.
Inserting a Local Version of Ammonia
Page 7 of 36
The dialog offers three ways of inserting a material. The New option allows you to create a
completely new material, with no pre-defined properties data. The Existing and Copy options
both allow you to create a copy of a material that is already in the materials database at a higher
level (i.e. at the System or Global level): the Existing option keeps a link to the original material,
and if the values for the original material are changed, the program will automatically update the
values for any fields that are still using the original, default values; the Copy option does not keep
a link, and the local version will not be affected by any changes to the original material.
Select the Existing option, locate and select AMMONIA in the list of materials, and then click on
OK to add the material to the Local Materials folder.
Next, repeat the process, selecting HYDROGEN CYANIDE as the material.
Editing the Materials Data for the Local Materials

When you expand the Study Tree below the Local Materials folder, you will see the icons for the
two materials. Double-click on the icon for AMMONIA to open the input dialog, and set the
Flammable/Toxic field in the General tab section from the default value of Both to Toxic only,
as shown in the illustration on the next page.
Click on OK to save the changed data, and then repeat the process with the local version of
HYDROGEN CYANIDE.
Page 8 of 36
The Changed Data for Ammonia
Page 9 of 36
Setting the Weather Input Data

Before defining any of the worst-case releases, you will define the other aspects of the input data,
which will be the same for all four releases: the Weather data, and the Map data.
Each new Study Folder is created with a set of default
Weather conditions defined for the default Study, as
shown in the illustration. These default Weathers are
representative of the range of common conditions, and
they enable you to obtain results for a new Study Folder
very quickly.
For this Worst Case analysis, you are only going to model
one condition1.5 m/s with F stability which is one of
the default conditions.
The Default Weather Conditions for
a New Study Folder
Delete the Unwanted Conditions

First, delete the other default conditions. You delete an icon from the tree by clicking on it to
select it, and then using the Delete (Del) key or the Delete option in the Edit menu or the rightclick menu. You could leave the conditions in the tree, but it will make the design of the analysis
clearer if you delete them.
Set the Detailed Weather Data

Next, double-click on the Weather 1.5/F icon to open the dialog for input data, and set the
following values in the Atmospheric Parameters tab section:
Page 10 of 36
The Atmospheric Parameters Weather options
All of the fields in the Atmospheric Parameters tab section take their initial values from the
defaults system, which is shown by the green border around each field. When you change the
values to those required for this analysis, you will see that the border disappearsthe colourcoded borders mean that you can see at a glance which fields in a dialog are using the default
values directly, and which have been changed.
Page 11 of 36
Setting the Map Data

In the Map tab section of the Study Tree, select the Raster Image Set option under the Anysite
Plant, and then select the option to insert a new Raster Image using the icon in the Toolbar, the
Insert menu, or the right-click menu.
Selecting the Bitmap Image

A bitmap image of the Anysite facility and its surroundings is supplied with PHAST. This can
be selected by browsing to the C:\Program Files\DNV\PHAST_6_4_2\Examples\ folder and
selecting the Anysite.bmp file.
The Insert Raster Image Screen
Once you have selected this raster image the Interactive Placement Mode option will become
enabled. This means that you can place your raster image onto your Map Window interactively.
The remaining Placement Mode options are not available because the Anysite.bmp file does not
contain GIS data. If you use a GIS raster image, with Header or Georeference data, PHAST will
place your map automatically for you. For further details on the GIS system in PHAST please
refer to the Online Help system.
When you press OK a Coordinate System Wizard will appear. Press Cancel to exit this wizard,
as it is for use with true GIS raster images. Again, for further details on the Co-ordinate System
in PHAST please refer to the Online Help system.
Page 12 of 36
The Coordinate System Wizard
A blank Map screen will now appear, for you to draw your raster image on to, using your mouse,
which will appear as a cross. Draw your map onto the blank Map screen, ignoring the actual
coordinates on the screen as you will set the origin and scale of the map in your next step.
NOTE: After pressing cancel you may have to wait a while before the blank map appears. Do not
click elsewhere on the screen during this time or the program will switch to a new action
and you will have to repeat the Insert Raster Image step.
Page 13 of 36
Setting the Scale

You set the scale by drawing a line between two points whose distance apart is known, then
typing in the distance. In this case you will draw a line across the entire map, which is 5 km
wide.
The Map Scale and Origin menu
Page 14 of 36
To set the scale, select the map by clicking on it, then choose Map Scale and Origin... Set
Scale from the Map menu or the rightclick menu. Then draw a line across the
entire width of the map. A dialog box will
appear asking for the length of your line,
so you should type in 5 km. When you
press OK to close the scale window you
will see that the horizontal and vertical
axes have been rescaled for the new value.
Setting the scale
Setting the Origin

The location of the map is defined when you first draw the raster image onto the blank map
screen. The co-ordinates at that time are unlikely to be correct for the map, whether you are
setting them with global co-ordinates or reference co-ordinates (in relation to a specific place).
Therefore, you must set the raster image origin manually after placing it on your screen and
setting the scale.
In this example you will set a
reference origin of (0, 0) in the
middle of the Anysite Facility. You
will later set the co-ordinates of the
release to (0, 0), which will place
them at this origin.
Setting the Origin
To set the origin, select the map by clicking on it, then choose Map Scale and Origin... Set
Origin from the Map menu or the right-click menu. The cursor will change to a cross-wire,
and you simply click on a point on the map to set that point as the origin. A dialog box will
appear for you. For this worst case analysis, you do not have to place the origin with great
precision, and any location near the middle of the site will be suitable.
Page 15 of 36
Defining the Ammonia Release

The first worst-case release is the 40,000 lb (18.1 tonne) ammonia release.
Inserting the Model

Select the Study, and then insert a Vessel or Pipe
Source Model, either by clicking on the icon in the
toolbar, or by selecting Vessel or Pipe Source
from the Insert menu. The new Model will be given
the name Vessel/Pipe Source, and you should
rename it immediately to Ammonia, as shown.
When you insert the new Model, you will find that
red boxes appear around all of the icons in the
Models tab section of the Study Tree. The box
appears around the new Model to show that it does
not have a complete set of input data, and you will
The new model in the study tree
therefore not be able to process it through the
calculations. When you have completed the data input for the Model, the box will disappear.
The box appears around the Worst Case Study to show that a Model inside the Study has
incomplete data, and similarly for the Study Folder; this effect on the higher levels of the tree can
be useful in a large analysis with many Studies.
Setting the Material Data

Double-click on the Ammonia
icon to open the dialog for the
input data, and set values in the
Material tab section as shown in
the illustration on the next page.
To set the Discharge Material,
click on the button with three
dots at the far right of the
dialog, and select AMMONIA
from the list which appears, as
shown. You will see that the
list contains many materials,
and not just the two materials
that you inserted in the Local
Materials folder. The Scope
column shows these two
materials as Local, whereas all
Page 16 of 36
Selecting a Material
of the other materials are shown as System. If the Scope is System, then there is currently
no Global or Local version of the material. If you selected one of these System materials (e.g.
BENZENE), the program would automatically create a version of the material in the Global
Materials folder for the Study Folder, and the next time you opened the Select Material dialog,
you would see that the Scope for the material had changed from System to Global; you will see
this later, when you are defining Models for the two flammable materials.
Now enter the remaining data in the Material tab, using the data shown in the screen below.
The Input Values for Material Data
When you select the material, the program automatically sets the Material to Track to
AMMONIA. You only have to choose a material to track if the Discharge Material is a mixture.
Note that you can use scientific notation when entering values, so you can enter the inventory as
40e3.
Page 17 of 36
Setting the Scenario Data

Move to the Scenario tab and set the following:
Scenario
Release Phase
10 Minute Release
Liquid
For most other types of Scenario, you have to give additional data that will enable the discharge
calculations to calculate the release rate. However, for the 10 Minute Release, the release rate
is calculated as (inventory/600 seconds) and not with any discharge calculations, so the Scenario
input data are very simple.
Setting the Location Data

Move to the Location tab, skipping the Pipe and Vessel tab, and set the values shown in the
illustration:
Location Input Data
Page 18 of 36
The Elevation has a default value which is greater than zero, and you should leave it with this
default value. If a release is located at ground level (i.e. the Elevation is zero), the program omits
the detailed modelling of liquid droplets and their evaporation and possible rainout, and simply
assumes that all of the liquid in the release rains out immediately; this is a reasonable assumption,
since liquid droplets will have no opportunity to evaporate during the fall to the ground if they are
released directly onto the ground. However, most releases will be at some elevation above
ground level, and the program is supplied with a default Elevation that will give a treatment of
the liquid droplets that is more typical of a real release. This worst case ammonia release is a
vapour-only release, so the elevation is not as important as for a liquid or two-phase release, but it
is still more realistic to place the release at some distance above the ground.
Leave the North and East coordinates with the default coordinates of zero, which will place the
release at the origin for the Map, which is in the middle of the Anysite facility.
Leave the three Distances blank. You can set a distance if you are interested in the effect levels
at a particular location, but for this analysis you are interested in the maximum dispersion
distance to a concentration of 200 ppm.
Check the box for Concentration of interest, set a value of 200 ppm, and set Uses averaging
time to Toxic. The significance of the Averaging time is described in detail below.
Averaging Times in PHAST: an Introduction

The averaging time is important in PHAST, and is more prominent now than in previous
versions. It is used to take into account the effects of changes in the wind direction over the
course of the release, and the way that the changes cause the plume to meander from side to side.
In order to interpret concentration results correctly, you must know the averaging time that was
used in calculating the concentration, and the program allows you to specify different averaging
times for different types of concentration results.
The wind does not blow steadily in a straight line; its direction varies with time, which causes a
cloud plume to meander from side to side. If you are standing downwind, at one moment you are
in the centre of cloud, experiencing the peak concentration, and the next moment the peak has
moved away to the side, and you are experiencing a much lower concentrationand in the
moment after that, the peak comes back over you and off to the other side, and so on.
The average concentration you receive over, say, 5 minutes will be much less than the peak
concentration; if you stood at the location for 30 minutes, the average would be lower still. This
factoring down of the peak concentration is carried out by the Averaging Time Adjustment
the longer the time window, or Averaging Time, the lower the calculated average concentration
will be.
For the Concentration of Interest, you can choose between several averaging times, depending
on the type of release. For a toxic-only material, there are five choices: a User-Defined time that
you set in the User-defined field at the bottom left of the dialog group below; a Toxic time that is
set in the Toxic Parameters; and the ERPG, IDLH and STEL times that are set as part of the
definitions of these measures of toxicity, and cannot be changed. When you select a type of
Page 19 of 36
averaging time from the list, the value of the averaging time will be displayed in the field to the
right of the list; the default toxic averaging time is 600 seconds, which is also the duration of this
release.
Setting the Bund Data

You can leave the bund data unset, since they are not relevant to this vapour release. For a liquid
release, however, the presence and size of the bund can have a very large effect on the results: if
there is no bund, then the pool from any liquid rainout can spread to cover a very wide area,
giving a high evaporation rate from the surface of the pool; whereas if there is a bund, then it
limits the area of the pool and the evaporation rate, as you will see in the next chapter.
Setting the Indoor/Outdoor Data

Next, move to the Indoor/Outdoor tab and set the Release Direction to Horizontal. You can
model a release as out of doors, where the only obstruction is the ground, or as inside a building,
where the size and ventilation of the building affects the initial stages of dispersion.
All continuous releases you must set the direction. Instantaneous releases do not require a
direction as the inventory will be released in all directions.
Ignoring the Other Tab Sections

You skipped the Vessel tab section, and you can ignore all of the remaining tab sections and click
OK to save the changes you have made.
For a vapour release, the Vessel tab section is only relevant if you want to perform timedependent discharge modelling, in which case you must give information about the dimensions of
the vessel and the liquid level. Such modelling is not applicable to the 10 Minute Release
scenario, which requires only the simplest discharge modelling.
The remaining tab sections allow you to change the default settings for explosion, fire and
discharge modelling. For a 10 Minute Release of a toxic-only material, these tab sections are not
relevant.
Page 20 of 36
Defining the Hydrogen Cyanide Release

The ammonia and the hydrogen cyanide releases have the same data for the Scenario and
Indoor/Outdoor tab sections, and differ only in the Material and Location data. To take
advantage of this, you will create the Hydrogen cyanide model as a copy of the Ammonia
model, and then edit the Material and Location data.
Copying the Ammonia Model

Select the Ammonia icon, and then select Copy from the Edit menu or from the right-click
menu. Then select the Worst Case Study, and select Paste from either menu. The program will
give the copy the name Ammonia(1), and you must rename it to Hydrogen cyanide.

Double-click on the Hydrogen Cyanide icon to open the dialog, and change the values in the
Material tab section to the following values:
Discharge Material
Inventory
HYDROGEN CYANIDE
2300 kg (2.3 tonnes)
Setting the Location Data

Move to the Location tab section and change the values to the following:
Concentration of interest
10 ppm
These changes complete the data for the release, and you can click on OK to save the edited data.
Page 21 of 36
Defining the Ethylene Release

The input data for the flammable releases are significantly different from those for the toxic
releases, and there is nothing to be gained from copying one of the existing releases. Create the
ethylene release by inserting a new Vessel or Pipe Source Model, and give it the name Ethylene.

Double-click on the Ethylene icon to open the dialog, and set the values in the Material tab
section as follows:
Discharge Material
ETHYLENE
Inventory
22,700 kg (22.7 tonnes)
Process Conditions
Temperature
Pressure
Temperature
32 oC
Pressure
43 barg
The ethylene is stored under supercritical conditions, and you must specify both the temperature
and the pressure.
Before you complete the entry of the temperature and pressure, you will see that the program
gives the Vessel Type and Phase as Unknown. At this point, the program has not checked the
state of the material at these conditions, and does not know that it is supercritical. Once you enter
the temperature and pressure then click or tab in another field the Phase will change to show the
material is stored as a Vapour and the Vessel Type will change to show Pressurised Gas.
Setting the Scenario Data

In this case you will accept all the Scenario tab default values, including the catastrophic release
settings, for which there is a choice.
You will see that in this tab the release phase has been set to Vapour. This happens because the
program has checked the phase and determined that the material is supercritical (which the
program models as vapour).
Because you have set your release as a Catastrophic Vapour you can ignore both the Pipe and
Vessel tabs.
Checking the Location Data

Move to the Location tab section and view the data as shown in the illustration on the following
page:
Page 22 of 36
The Location Input Data for the Ethylene Model
Unlike the toxic cases, you do not need to set a Concentration of interest or choose or set an
associated Averaging Time. For flammable releases, the program automatically performs the
dispersion to a fraction of the lower flammable limit (where the fraction is set in the Flammable
Parameters), using the Flammable Averaging Time (also set in the Flammable Parameters). If
you are interested in the details of the concentration results for a flammable material, you might
set an additional concentration of interest and a user-defined averaging time, but for this analysis
the effects from an immediate explosion are likely to be more significant than any later cloud
dispersion.
Checking the Flammable Data

Move to the Flammable tab section and check that the Explosion Method is set to TNT.
PHAST now has three explosion models available.
Page 23 of 36
Leave the Early Explosion Mass Modification Factor with its default value of 3. This factor is
used in calculating the mass involved in an early explosion. The program calculates the mass of
vapour in the cloud after it has expanded to atmospheric pressure, and then multiplies this mass
by the Modification Factor to obtain the explosion mass, with an upper limit set by the
flammable mass released.
Setting the TNT Data

Move to the TNT tab section. The tab section is to the right of the Flammable tab section and
may not be immediately visible when the dialog first opens. If you cannot see the tab section, use
the navigation button at the far right of the tabs to reveal the other tabs in the dialog.
Leave the TNT Explosion Efficiency with its default value of 10%. This determines the fraction
of the combustion energy in the explosion mass that is converted into explosion energy. Set Air /
Ground Burst to Ground Burst, which means that the explosion occurs near the ground, i.e. at
the same elevation as the release. For this type of explosion, the effects of reflection from the
ground are assumed to double the amount of energy involved in an explosion, so this type will
give the worst case results. These changes complete the data for the release, and you can click on
OK to save the edited data.
Page 24 of 36
Defining the Propylene Release

The propylene release differs from the ethylene release only in the Material data, so you can
create it as a copy of the Ethylene model, using the method described for creating the hydrogen
cyanide release. Give the copied model the name Propylene.

Double-click on the Propylene icon to open the dialog, and change the values in the
Material tab section to the following values:
Discharge Material
Inventory
Process Conditions
Temperature
PROPYLENE
34,000 kg (34.0 tonnes)
Temperature
Saturated Liquid
32 oC
When you change the material, the program performs flash calculations to check the current
process conditions and updates the reported Phase and Fluid Type if necessary. At 32 oC and 48
barg, ethylene is a supercritical vapour but propylene is a liquid. Therefore, you will see the
Phase change from Liquid to Two-Phase and the Fluid Type change from Pressurised Liquid
to Saturated Liquid.
Checking the Scenario Data

Move to the Scenario tab section, and you will see that the only choice for Phase to be released
is Liquid. The presence and design of a bund or dike can have a significant effect on liquid
releases, but you should leave the bund data in the Bund Data tab section unset, as with the
vapour releases, since this will allow the liquid pool to spread indefinitely, giving a larger
evaporation rate than with a bund.
This completes the release data, and you can click on OK to save the edited values.
Page 25 of 36
Viewing the List of Global Materials

Move to the Materials tab section, and expand
the tree under the Global Materials folder.
You will see that icons for ETHYLENE and
PROPYLENE have been added to the folder;
each was added as a copy of the System version
when you selected the material in the input
dialog.
The Ethylene and Propylene Models obtain
their materials data from these Global versions.
If you add Models for further ethylene or
propylene releases, these Models will also use
these versions.
The global & local materials lists
Page 26 of 36
Running the Calculations

To run the calculations for all of the Models, move back to the Models tab in tab in the Study
Tree and select the icon for the Worst Case Study, then start the run. There are three ways of
starting a run: you can select Model(s) from the Run menu or Run Model(s) from the right-click
menu, or you can press Ctrl+M.
You can follow the progress of the run in the Progress Meter, and also in the Message Log tab
section of the Log Window.
Running the calculations
Page 27 of 36
Viewing the Results

The Graphs give the most direct way of viewing the results. To view the Graphs for a Model,
select that Model, then click Ctrl+G, or choose the Graph option from the View menu or the
right-click menu. The Plot Setup dialog will appear, prompting you for the weather to use, and
when you click on OK, the program will generate the Graphs, and display them in the Graph
Window. In this example we will view the Category 1.5/F weather, though you can view more
than one weather if you wish.
The Results for Ammonia

There are seven Graphs which show concentration results. For this analysis, the most important
Graph is the Map. When you first move to the Map tab section, there will be two concentration
contours shown on the Map, for around 200 ppm (the concentration of interest) and around 400
ppm, as shown in the illustration. These contours are some distance from the facility, and show
that the cloud has become detached from the release point because the time taken for the cloud to
disperse to 200 ppm was much longer than the ten minute duration of the release.
The map graph view
This aspect of the release makes the results quite complex, and you may find them difficult to
interpret at first, especially as the program gives much more detail in the results than in previous
versions and provides many more options.
The first thing to notice in Graphs of this type is the Time displayed in the legend. In the
illustration above, the time is given as 1881 s, and this is the time after the start of the release at
which the area covered by the 200 ppm contour (the contour for the concentration of interest) was
largest.
Page 28 of 36
To see the contours for other times, select Dynamic from the Graph menu or the right-click
menu, and the Cloud Dynamics Control will appear. You use this Control to view an animation
of the cloud dispersion. Note: The Dynamic option will not be available if you have selected
more than one weather from the Plot Setup screen.
Click on the rewind button at the left of the control
to set the animation time to the beginning of the
release, and then click on the play button at the
right of the control to start the animation. You
will see the development of the cloud displayed on
the Map, and when the time reaches about 600
seconds (as shown in the legend) you will see the
cloud become detached from the release point.
The cloud dynamics control screen
If you run the animation to the end of the release, you will see the 200 ppm contour go into the
ocean, and disappear off the map. In this direction the cloud does not have reach any populated
areas. However, the wind could also be moving from the south, and we should examine the
effects from this direction.
To model the release from the south select
Wind Direction from the Graph menu or the
right-click menu, and the Wind Direction
control screen will appear. Move the bar to
180 degrees, as shown, to indicate the
direction the wind is coming from.
The cloud dynamics control screen
After setting the Wind Direction you should again run the animation to see if the cloud reaches
the town. You will then see that the worst case ammonia release does have the potential to reach
populated areas offsite.
The effect of the cloud will depend on the time that it takes to pass over the town, and you can see
this in the Concentration vs Time graph. This shows the time-dependent concentration profile at
a particular distance from the release source. When you first move to the tab section, the distance
will be set as the mid-point of the cloud at the time that the contour covers the largest area (i.e. as
in the first view of the Map Graph), but you can change this distance.
The distance from the release to the middle of the town is approximately 4.3 km. To set this as
the distance for the Concentration vs Time Graph, right-click on the centre of the graph image
and select Properties from the right-click menu, and set the value as shown:
Page 29 of 36
Setting the downwind distance for the

concentration vs time graph
When you click on OK and return to the Time Graph, the Graph will change, and you can see the
concentration profile at the town. The Graph shows that a person at that point would only be
exposed to the cloud for about ten minutes, but the concentration during this time would be over
400 ppm. The 200 ppm concentration of interest is based on an exposure of an hour, so the
effects from this cloud should be small, but could still be unpleasant.
The concentration vs time graph
Page 30 of 36
This graph shows many vertical lines from 0 to 400 ppm. These represent the end points of
different cloud segments which are produced because the Ammonia release forms a pool which
vaporises at different rates. For further details on cloud segments please refer to the on-line Help
system.
The Results for Hydrogen Cyanide

Unlike the ammonia release, the hydrogen cyanide release does not become detached from the
source. This is because the cloud rains out close to the source and the pool vaporises about an
hour. The wider cloud positioned further from the source is produced by pool segments with a
high vaporisation rate. The thinner cloud closer to the source is produced by pool segments with
a lower vaporisation rate.
If you use the Properties... option to set the distance of interest to 4.3 km and move to the Time
Graph, you will see that the duration of exposure at the town is just under one hour. In addition,
for some of this time, the concentration is almost four times the concentration of interest of 10
ppm.
This indicates a much more significant hazard than the ammonia release, which reached twice the
concentration of interest for only ten minutes. However, the difference in the values for
concentration of interest makes it difficult to correctly compare the concentration results for
ammonia and hydrogen cyanide using the Map and Time Graphs. However, the Lethality Graph
(stored under the Toxic tab) allows you to compare the toxic effects directly, and you can also
plot the results for the two Models on the same Graph.
In order to plot the combined
results, you must open a third
Graph window from the Weather
tab section of the Study Tree. To
do this move to the weather tab
and select the 1.5/F Weather, and
then press Ctrl+G to generate the
Graph. The Plot Setup dialog will
open, with a Model tab section
instead of a Weather tab section,
and you can select the two toxic
Models, as shown:
Plotting a graph for more than one

model
Page 31 of 36
The Lethality Graph shows the results for both Models, and it shows that the toxic effects of the
Hydrogen cyanide Model are worse than those for the Ammonia Model. However, neither
gives a significant probability of death at the town.
The Probability of Fatality Graph
If you look at the Graphs for concentration, you will find that they are plotting the results for 200
ppm, i.e. the concentration of interest for ammonia. The program cannot plot a comparison of the
results for 10 ppm, because the calculations for ammonia stopped at 200 ppm, so it can only
compare the results for 200 ppm.
This comparison at 200 ppm may be misleading, because the inventory for the Hydrogen
cyanide Model is much smaller than for the Ammonia Model, and the cloud is diluted to 200
ppm much more quickly. This emphasizes that some Graphs are useful for some purposes (e.g.
getting the details of the results for a single Model, or for comparing Models that involve the
same material) whereas other Graphs are useful for other purposes (e.g. comparing Models that
involve different materials).
The Results for Ethylene and Propylene

The two flammable Models have the same critical effect-level, i.e. 0.02068 bar, and their results
can be compared directly. Move to the Weather tab section, select the 1.5/F Weather, press
Ctrl+G, and then select the two flammable Models in the Models tab section of the Plot Setup
dialog.
When you first move to the Map Graph, it will be displaying the concentration contours for the
two Models. This is the default option for the results displayed on the Map, but you can use the
Properties... option to change this.
Page 32 of 36
In the Display tab section, change the Map Event

from Dispersion to Late Explosion, as shown.
Setting the graph properties for viewing the late

explosion overpressures on a map
When you
have clicked
on OK and
the program
has redrawn
the Map
Graph, you
will see that
the
overpressure
radii to
0.02068 bar
do not
extend
outside the
boundary of
the site, and
pose no
threat to the
town, as
shown in the
illustration.
The explosion results for the flammable models
Page 33 of 36
Summary of Worst Case Analysis

The Worst Case analysis shows that the hydrogen cyanide inventory poses the greatest offsite
risk, although no scenarios are capable of causing fatalities at the town.
If you require any further information on any of these cases please contact your local Technical
Support desk or sign up for one of our training courses.
Page 34 of 36

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PHAST Applications

the right tool for safety professional

Leading consequence analysis tool

PHAST is a comprehensive hazard analysis software

Using PHAST as a Design Tool

Using independently validated models

Using PHAST as a Plant Siting Tool

Using PHAST as an Operational Tool

Once a process is in place, it is vital that the proper

By using PHASTs Unified Dispersion Model (UDM)

The variety of release scenarios available as well as the

Offering a complete solution

PHAST as a Compliance Tool

PHAST Interface and Data Handling

include the facility to overlay graphical output such as

PHAST Materials Database

For your engineering software needs

Validation and Verification

DNV Software branch offices:

Design: DNVE Graphic Services Printed by Gan 0501-022

Setting up your own Analysis

Starting the Program Running

The Main Window

The Main Window on Startup

Opening the PHAST Example Study Folder

The Main Window with a Study Folder Open

The Study Tree Pane

The Models Tab Section

The Weather Tab Section

The Parameters Tab Section

The Materials Tab Section

The Map Tab Section

The Map tab section and the Map Window

Pinpointing an Individual Model

Viewing Input Data

Opening the Input Dialog for the Chlorine Rupture Model

Input Dialog for the Chlorine Rupture Model

Getting Help on the Input Data

The Help Window

Running the Calculations and Viewing the Results

Viewing the Graphs for the Chlorine and Butadiene Releases

The Graph Window

The Footprint concentration results are the

Viewing the Reports for the Butadiene Rupture Model

The Report Window

The Discharge Report

The Early Explosion Report

Results for Two Time-Steps in the Late Explosion Report

The Flowrate graph

Viewing the Results for the Other Models

Chapter 2:Setting up your own Analysis

The Models Defined in the Analysis

A rupture of a vessel containing a toxic material

The equivalent three releases for a vessel containing a flammable material

The rupture of a propane tank wagon under normal operating conditions.

A fireball or BLEVE of the propane tank wagon as a result of fire impingement.

A liquid leak from the body of the propane tank wagon.

Creating a new Study Folder

Saving the Study Folder

Chapter 2:Setting up your own Analysis

The Contents of a new Study Folder

Setting up the Map Data

Inserting the Raster Image