Articles & Issues

Language: english

Conflict of Interest: In relation to this article, we declare that there is no conflict of interest.

Publication history: Received October 9, 2018
Accepted November 2, 2018

This is an Open-Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/bync/3.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

All issues

Investigation of the LPG Gas Explosion of a Welding And Cutting Torch at a Construction Site

Su-kyung Lee Jung-hoon Lee^† Dong-woo Song

Department of Safety Engineering, Seoul National University of Science and Technology, 232, Gongneung-ro, Nowon-gu, Seoul, 01811, Korea

fperrr88@naver.com

Korean Chemical Engineering Research, December 2018, 56(6), 811-818(8), 10.9713/kcer.2018.56.6.811 Epub 4 December 2018

Download PDF

Abstract

A fire and explosion accident caused by a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) welding and cutting torch gas leak occurred 10 m underground at the site of reinforcement work for bridge columns, killing four people and seriously injuring ten. We conducted a comprehensive investigation into the accident to identify the fundamental causes of the explosion by analyzing the structure of the construction site and the properties of propane, which was the main component of LPG welding and cutting work used at the site. The range between the lower and upper explosion limits of leaking LPG for welding and cutting work was examined using Le Chatelier's formula; the behavior of LPG concentration change, which included dispersion and concentration change, was analyzed using the fire dynamic simulator (FDS). We concluded that the primary cause of the accident was combustible LPG that leaked from a welding and cutting torch and formed a explosion range between the lower and upper limits. When the LPG contacted the flame of the welding and cutting torch, LPG explosion occurred. The LPG explosion power calculation was verified by the blast effect computation program developed by the Department of Defense Explosive Safety Board (DDESB). According to the fire simulation results, we concluded that the welding and cutting torch LPG leak caused the gas explosion. This study is useful for safety management to prevent accidents caused by LPG welding and cutting work at construction sites.

Keywords

Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) Trinitrotoluene (TNT) Fire dynamic simulators (FDS) Le Chatelier’s formula Welding and cutting

References

Ministry of Public Safety and Security, Fire statistical yearbook, 25-30 (2016). http://nfds.go.kr/ebook/2016/all/2016.html. Accessed on: 2 May 2017.
Korea Joongang Daily Social affairs Section. https://news.joins.com/article/20113708, Accessed on: (2016).
Bubbico R, Marchini M, J. Hazard. Mater., 155(3), 558 (2008)
Cocchi G, J. Loss Prev. Process Ind., 44, 323 (2016)
Lee IJ, Kim RH, Korean Chem. Eng. Res., 53(4), 431 (2015)
Tamil Selvan R, Int. J. Science Technology Eng., 2(4), 276 (2015)
Boult M, J. Hazard. Mater., 71, 85 (2000)
Roberts AF, Fire Safety J., 4, 197 (1981)
Turgut P, Engineering Failure Analysis, 32, 220 (2013)
Cocchi G, J. Loss Prev. Process Ind., 44, 323 (2016)
Khan FI, Abbasi SA, J. Loss Prev. Process Ind., 12(5), 361 (1999)
Khan FI, Abbasi SA, J. Loss Prev. Process Ind., 14(4), 283 (2001)
Licong Z, Procedia Engineering, 26, 1322 (2011)
Lizhong Y, J. Hazard. Mater., A84, 123 (2001)
Ha DM, Proceedings of the Korea Institute of Fire Science and Engineering Conference, 131-134(2008).
Crowl DA, Louvar JF, Chemical Process Safety: Fundamentals with application, Prentice Hall: New Jersey, 6-15(2002).
Dadashzadeh M, Khan F, Hawboldt K, Amyotte P, Fire Safety J., 61, 324 (2013)