Project Synopsis
Perform a plant-wide technical evaluation of existing metal dust ventilation/collection systems and pressure relief panels/rupture disks at an automotive components manufacturing plant to prevent deflagrations and explosions.
Project Summary
The client is a Tier-1 automotive supplier that produces various parts of the fuel delivery systems for automotive engines. The facility performs metal working via welding and marking that produce fine metal dusts that are combustible. To prevent deflagrations and explosions wet scrubbers are used to capture the dust in the machine exhaust vents. The facility recently experienced an explosion of one of the wet scrubbers leading to downtime and property damage. To prevent recurrence, the client approached Process Engineering Associates, LLC (PROCESS) requesting a technical evaluation of their existing systems, sizing of relief panels/rupture disks in accordance with applicable standards, and recommendations for overall improvement of their dust ventilation systems.
Specific tasks for this project included:
- Performing relief calculations per NFPA 68 to determine required relief area for both sizes of wet scrubber used in the facility. Input data included equipment design pressures, physical properties of the metal dust, and particle size distribution (PSD) of the dust.
- Verified performance-based relief design calculations performed by the client’s corporate staff adhered to the relief design methodology of NFPA 68. Confirmed proposed rupture disk size provides sufficient relief area.
- Provided a final technical report that includes rupture disk specifications for both sizes of wet scrubbers in use, technical assessment of existing relief design methodology, and recommendations for minimizing risk of explosions. Recommendations include: Improved bonding strategies, ventilation piping re-configurations, and interlocking instrumentation that can shutdown systems when potential explosive conditions are approached.
Industry Type
Automotive Component Manufacturing
Utilized Skills
- Industrial ventilation systems evaluation and design
- Dust hazards analysis
- Scrubber evaluation and design.