Process safety engineering resources
Reference articles explaining the engineering behind the calculations: what each phenomenon is, how it is quantified, which assumptions matter and how the results are used in a safety study. Each article links to the RiskCalcs modules that perform the corresponding calculation.
What is process safety?
Process safety is the discipline of preventing loss of containment of hazardous materials and energy. Learn its scope, how it differs from occupational safety and which calculations support it.
What is quantitative risk assessment (QRA)?
A quantitative risk assessment combines release frequency, consequence modelling and vulnerability to produce individual and societal risk. Learn the QRA workflow, inputs and outputs.
What is gas dispersion modelling?
Gas dispersion modelling predicts how a released gas is diluted downwind. Understand Gaussian and dense-gas behaviour, stability classes, and how concentration footprints are used.
How is gas release rate calculated?
Gas release rate from a hole is calculated with choked or subsonic orifice flow equations. Learn the critical pressure ratio, discharge coefficient and how release rate decays with inventory.
What is thermal radiation?
Thermal radiation from process fires is quantified in kW/m2 and drives escalation, escape and occupied-building criteria. Learn radiation levels, exposure dose and how flux is calculated.
What is a jet fire?
A jet fire is an ignited high-momentum release of flammable gas or two-phase fluid. Learn flame length, radiation, escalation risk and how jet fires are modelled in consequence analysis.
What is a flash fire?
A flash fire is the short-duration burn-back of an unconfined flammable cloud after delayed ignition. Learn how flash fire envelopes are defined, harm criteria and how they differ from explosions.
What is explosion overpressure?
Explosion overpressure is the pressure rise above ambient from a vapour cloud explosion. Learn typical damage thresholds, blast modelling methods and how overpressure drives building siting.
What are LFL and UFL?
LFL and UFL define the concentration range in which a gas-air mixture will burn. Learn typical values, how temperature and pressure widen the range, and how LFL is used in safety studies.
What is H2S dispersion?
Hydrogen sulphide dispersion assessment predicts toxic concentrations downwind of a sour gas release. Learn H2S exposure thresholds, dense-gas behaviour and how escape planning uses the results.
How is risk calculated in QRA?
QRA risk is the sum of event frequency times fatality probability across all scenarios, weather cases and wind directions. Learn the calculation chain, individual risk and F-N curves.