SOUTHWEST RESEARCH INSTITUTE

Testing Services

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For more than 50 years, Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has worked on a broad range of problems for the chemical and petrochemical industries. SwRI provides a significant, single resource to small service companies and independent operators as well as large, fully integrated corporations.

The success of SwRI is based on a multidisciplinary, integrated approach to problem-solving, continually producing innovations in the presence of evolving technologies and market forces.

SwRI services address chemical/petrochemical industries needs in:

• Accident investigation and assessment

• Analytical and physical modeling 

• Hazard and risk analysis

• Fire and explosion testing

• Safety and environmental engineering

As a nonprofit organization, SwRI provides an independent, third-party perspective. As part of a long-held tradition, patent rights arising from sponsored research at the Institute are often assigned to the client. SwRI generally retains the rights to Institute-funded advancements.

Accident Investigation and Assessment

	Predicted pressure contours are formed about a large vapor cloud explosion epicenter, caused by accidental release of hydrocarbons from an upwind storage tank.

Expertise in energy source characteristics such as the distinctive signatures and outputs of explosives, gas clouds, and grain dust is essential for the successful reconstruction of accidents. SwRI has extensive experience in investigating and assessing accidents involving grain elevators, chemical, and petroleum facilities, including:

• Safety audits

• Determination of causes

• Estimation of energetic involvement

• Prevention and mitigation

• Barrier development

Analytical and Physical Modeling

Computer codes and models represent powerful tools to predict potentially hazardous conditions that can be eliminated from systems during the design phase. Codes and models are also used for consequence analysis, with results used to guide emergency response and contingency plan development. Consequence analysis is an integral part of relative risk evaluations.

• Fluid mechanics models

  • Spreading, dispersion, dilution, and evaporation of chemical spills in waterways

  • Rupture of pipelines carrying volatile liquids and gases

  • Dense gas dispersion

  • Chemical spill rate from punctured storage tanks and ship tanks

  • Confined space ventilation

  • Transport of chemical spills through porous or fractured soils
     

• Structural, blast, and fragment models

  • Replica and similitude models to evaluate response of prototype structures when subjected to a detonation/explosion

  • Finite element models for structural design

  • Blast source and damage modeling

  • Fragmentation and debris trajectory analysis and containment

  • Free field and contained blast effects prediction

  • Chemical spill transport through porous or fractured soils
     

• Maintainability/reliability/expert system models

  • Empirical component failure rate and reliability prediction

  • Failure diagnostics

  • Expert systems/artificial intelligence for corrective action
     

• Thermal models

  • Thermohydraulics and relief venting of liquefied petroleum gases in fire engulfment

  • Heat transfer analysis of composite structures using finite element or finite difference methods

  • Field and zone modeling of enclosure fires for predicting smoke, heat, and contaminant spread

Hazard and Risk Analysis

Hazards analysis assesses the hazard, consequences of the hazard, the damage potential, and the controls that exist on the system or process. Hazard likelihood, severity, and controls are evaluated. Quantitative and/or qualitative hazards analyses are conducted as specified by the client.

• Worst-case scenario analysis

  • Operations

  • Decisions

  • Consequences
     

• Failure modes and effects analysis

  • Failure modes

  • Effects of failures

  • Hazard and severity

  • Controls
     

• Event tree analysis

• Fault tree analysis

  • Process or system

  • Undesired event

  • Cascading failures

  • Event likelihood

Fire and Explosion Testing

As a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL), SwRI offers complete fire and explosion testing services providing multidisciplinary engineering and scientific resources to resolve fire and explosion safety issues. Various standard tests conducted include:
 

Flame arresters prevent fire and explosions from propagating through pipelines to connecting vessels. SwRI consults with manufacturers who make and use arresters and conducts flashback, deflagration (detonation), and continuous burn tests to evaluate arrester performance.
 

Safety and Environmental Engineering

With an international reputation in fire technology, environmental monitoring, and loss prevention, SwRI provides a wide range of safety and environmental assessment support, including advanced laboratory and analytical facilities and computer modeling capabilities. SwRI expertise includes subsurface transport modeling and environmental performance assessment of complex systems. In addition, engineers test and evaluate components and equipment for the chemical and petrochemical industries.

SwRI scientists and engineers monitor and analyze emissions from mobile and stationary sources and develop remediation technologies for sites contaminated by toxic materials. Research is conducted to develop new sampling and analytical methods and test new process control technologies.

• Environmental Risk Monitoring and Assessment

  • Emission monitoring

  • Trace contaminant analysis

  • Subsurface contaminant transport modeling

  • Health risk assessment

  • Site assessment and audits

  • Industrial hygiene surveys

  • Probabilistic performance assessments

  • Contaminant assessment and remediation
     

• Environmental Engineering

  • Site remediation modeling and technology

  • Pollution control process evaluations

  • Hazard and toxic waste disposal technologies

  • Pollution prevention analysis

  • Multimedia environmental contamination studies

For more information about fire technology services and capabilities and services for the chemical and petrochemical industries at SwRI or how you can contract with SwRI, please call (210) 522-2311 or e-mail fire-info@swri.org.
 

| Fire Technology Department | Chemistry & Chemical Engineering Division | SwRI Home |

Southwest Research Institute® (SwRI®), headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, is a multidisciplinary, independent, nonprofit, applied engineering and physical sciences research and development organization with 11 technical divisions.

February 07, 2007