Hazards Analysis, Code Compliance & Procedure Development

Services to identify process safety hazards and facilitate compliance with established standards and codes.

Combustible Dust Testing

Laboratory testing to quantify dust explosion and reactivity hazards

Flammable Gas & Vapor Testing

Laboratory testing to quantify explosion hazards for vapor and gas mixtures

Chemical Reactivity Testing

Laboratory testing to quantify reactive chemical hazards, including the possibility of material incompatibility, instability, and runaway chemical reactions

ISO Accreditation and Scope
Fauske & Associates fulfills the requirements of ISO/IEC 17025:2017 in the field of Testing
DIERS Methodology

Design emergency pressure relief systems to mitigate the consequences of unwanted chemical reactivity and account for two-phase flow using the right tools and methods

Deflagrations (Dust/Vapor/Gas)

Properly size pressure relief vents to protect your processes from dust, vapor, and gas explosions

Effluent Handling

Pressure relief sizing is just the first step and it is critical to safety handle the effluent discharge from an overpressure event

Thermal Stability

Safe storage or processing requires an understanding of the possible hazards associated with sensitivity to variations in temperature

UN-DOT

Classification of hazardous materials subject to shipping and storage regulations

Safety Data Sheets

Develop critical safety data for inclusion in SDS documents

Biological

Model transport of airborne virus aerosols to guide safe operations and ventilation upgrades

Radioactive

Model transport of contamination for source term and leak path factor analysis

Fire Analysis

Model transport of heat and smoke for fire analysis

Flammable or Toxic Gas

transport of flammable or toxic gas during a process upset

OSS consulting, adiabatic & reaction calorimetry and consulting

Onsite safety studies can help identify explosibility and chemical reaction hazards so that appropriate testing, simulations, or calculations are identified to support safe scale up

Mechanical, Piping, and Electrical

Engineering and testing to support safe plant operations and develop solutions to problems in heat transfer, fluid flow, electric power systems

Battery Safety

Testing to support safe design of batteries and electrical power backup facilities particularly to satisfy UL9540a ed.4

Hydrogen Safety

Testing and consulting on the explosion risks associated with devices and processes which use or produce hydrogen

Spent Fuel

Safety analysis for packaging, transport, and storage of spent nuclear fuel

Decommissioning, Decontamination and Remediation (DD&R)

Safety analysis to underpin decommissioning process at facilities which have produced or used radioactive nuclear materials

Laboratory Testing & Software Capabilities

Bespoke testing and modeling services to validate analysis of DD&R processes

Nuclear Overview

Our Nuclear Services Group is recognized for comprehensive evaluations to help commercial nuclear power plants operate efficiently and stay compliant.

Severe Accident Analysis and Risk Assessment

Expert analysis of possible risk and consequences from nuclear plant accidents

Thermal Hydraulics

Testing and analysis to ensure that critical equipment will operate under adverse environmental conditions

Environmental Qualification (EQ) and Equipment Survivability (ES)

Testing and analysis to ensure that critical equipment will operate under adverse environmental conditions

Laboratory Testing & Software Capabilities

Testing and modeling services to support resolution of emergent safety issues at a power plant

Adiabatic Safety Calorimeters (ARSST and VSP2)

Low thermal inertial adiabatic calorimeters specially designed to provide directly scalable data that are critical to safe process design

Other Lab Equipment and Parts for the DSC/ARC/ARSST/VSP2 Calorimeters

Products and equipment for the process safety or process development laboratory

FERST

Software for emergency relief system design to ensure safe processing of reactive chemicals, including consideration of two-phase flow and runaway chemical reactions

FATE

Facility modeling software mechanistically tracks transport of heat, gasses, vapors, and aerosols for safety analysis of multi-room facilities

Blog

Our highly experienced team keeps you up-to-date on the latest process safety developments.

Process Safety Newsletter

Stay informed with our quarterly Process Safety Newsletters sharing topical articles and practical advice.

Resources

With over 40 years of industry expertise, we have a wealth of process safety knowledge to share.

Recent Posts

Process Safety Alternative For UN's Self-Reactive Substances Guidelines

Posted by The Fauske Team on 06.25.14

Hans K. Fauske, D.Sc., Regent Advisor, Fauske & Associates, LLC (FAI) recently presented "AN ALTERNATIVE METHODOLOGY ADDRESSING UNITED NATIONS' (UN) GUIDELINES FOR SELF-REACTIVE SUBSTANCES THE EASY AND VERIFIED WAY".  His findings and recommendations, are highlighted below.  

A simple ARSSTTM*** test (~ 10 ml sample) can serve as an alternative method to:

  • The multiple UN 10L tests - Relief Sizing (FAI's Process Safety News, Fall 2012, Vol. 19, No. 4)
  • The UN full scale commercial package H.1 test -SADT Determination (FAI's Process Safety News, Spring 2013, Vol. 20, No. 2) 
  • The multiple UN tests - Packaging Classification Type A to G Determination (FAI's Process Safety News, Fall 2013, Vol. 20, No. 4)

Nuclear Safety Management Services

The proposed Alternative Methodology is consistent with UN guidelines which allow other procedures to be used provided that adequate correlation has been obtained with the classification tests on a representative range of substances. 

Not that we need another acronym, but the general term SART can represent the specific term SADT (Self-Accelerating Decomposition Temperature) commonly also applied to self-reactive systems that do not exhibit decomposition such as polymerization reactions etc.

Adopting the general term SART has the benefit of minimizing confusion.  In the absence of decomposition, such substances need not be treated as UN Division 4.1 self-reactive systems evaluated under the specified test regimes.

A single ARSST test can determine the SART value and serve as an alternative method to the UN full scale commercial package H.1 – SADT determination as well as determine the presence or absence of decomposition reaction.  In the presence of decomposition reaction the single ARSST test can also serve as an alternative method to the Multiple U.N. Tests for Division 4.1 (self-reactive systems) or Division 5.2 (Organic peroxides) addressing packaging classification type A to G determination (Process Safety News, Fall 2013, Vol. 20, No. 4).

Alternative UN Method SART Graph 1 Nuclear Safety Management Services

Finally, it is noted that the single ARSST test can also serve as an alternative method to the multiple UN 10 l tests – Pressure Relief Sizing (FAI's Process Safety News, Fall 2012, Vol. 19, No. 4).  The proposed Alternative Methodology is consistent with UN guidelines which allow other procedures to be used provided that adequate correlation has been obtained with the classification tests on a representative range of substances.

This is The Case

***What is the ARSST TM?

Background

The Advanced Reactive System Screening Tool TM (ARSST TM) is a low thermal inertia calorimeter used to obtain critical upset process design data, developed by Fauske & Associates, LLC (FAI).  FAI offers the ARSST along with options for customization such as a high-pressure vessel and flow regime detector, as well as commonly used items such as test cells, heaters, glands and thermocouples. FAI not only utilizes the ARSST in our fully equipped hazards laboratory but we also manufacture and sell the calorimeter for use by our clients.

The ARSST is based on DIERS two-phase methodology which is recognized by OSHA as an example of good engineering practice. This easy-to-use device is also capable of generating low phi-factor data for DIERS vent sizing and is an excellent tool for industry as well as any university engineering lab for research or unit operation studies.

ARSST tests are used to model such upset scenarios as loss of cooling, loss of stirring, mischarge of reagents, mass-loaded upset, batch contamination and fire exposure heating. This easy to use and cost-effective calorimeter can quickly and safely identify potential reactive chemical hazards in the process industry.  ARSST data yields critical experimental knowledge of the rates of temperature and pressure rise during a runaway reaction, thereby providing reliable energy and gas release rates which can be applied directly to full scale process conditions. 

The ARSST typically utilizes a sample size of 5-10 grams in a lightweight glass test cell with a volume of approximately 10 ml.  The test cell is outfitted with a belt heater (used to heat the sample through a preprogrammed temperature scan) and then installed in 350 ml containment vessel.  Tests are typically run using open test cell methodology.  In this test configuration, the test cell is vented to the containment vessel.  Volatilization of the test sample is prevented by imposing an inert backpressure on the containment vessel.

Benefits

The ARSST enables users to quickly obtain reliable adiabatic data which can be used for a variety of safety applications including characterization of material compatibility, thermal stability and reaction chemistry.  Test data includes adiabatic rates of temperature and pressure change which, due to the low thermal inertia, can be directly applied to process scale to determine relief vent sizes, quench tank designs and other relief system design parameters related to process safety management.

Features

  • User friendly

  • Easy setup for fast test turnaround

  • Quickly screen new and existing processes for thermal hazards

  • Scanning and isothermal modes

  • Reliable results for thermal hazard assessment

  • Open or closed cell testing (obtain vapor pressure data from closed cell testing)

  • Small sample size

  • Lightweight glass test cell with good mixing

  • Compatible with Flow Regime Detector (FRED) equipment for vent sizing applications (FRED distinguishes between foamy and non-foamy behavior)

Applications

  • Obtain complete chemical systems data:

    -    Critical temperature

    -    Kinetic parameters

  • Estimate process safety parameters including:

    -    Onset temperature

    -    Temperature & pressure rise rates

    -    Adiabatic temperature rise

    -    Heat of reaction and mixing

    -    Tempering temperature

    -    Time to maximum rate (tmr)

    -    Self-accelerating decomposition temperature (SADT)

  • Vent sizing

  • Emergency relief system design

  • Accommodates handling of energetics and pyrotechnics

For more information on this finding, the ARSST or other process safety needs, please contact AnnMarie Fauske, afauske@fauske.com or 630-887-5213

 
Emergency Relief Vent Sizing for Fire Emergencies Involving Liquid-Filled Atmospheric Storage Vessels

Topics: combustible hazard, process safety, process hazards, relief sizing, reaction calorimetry, self reactive system, chemical

cta-bg.jpg

Is My Dust Combustible?

A Flowchart To Help You Decide
Download Now