Sitting the Barrier Aimed at Protecting Roadside Property from Accidental Fires and Explosions on Road: a Pre-Optimisation Stage

Abstract

An early stage of the design of a safety barrier intended for protecting roadside property against fires and explosions on road is studied. Three main problems of this design stage are highlighted: determination of the road segment from which a roadside object to be protected can be damaged; specification of area for barrier construction; and positioning of the barrier within available construction area. A solution of these problems is considered to be a necessary step providing helpful information for a detailed design of the barrier by applying methods of structural optimisation. It is shown that the most challenging problem of the early stage of barrier design will be the determination of an unsafe road segment. This problem is formulated as a problem of quantitative risk assessment (QRA) and solved by combining rigorous methods of QRA and structural reliability theory. Apart from rigorous methods, engineering judgement may be required for the positioning of the barrier within available area. A case study is used to illustrate the main steps of the early, pre-optimisation stage of barrier design.

Keywords

• barrier
• fire
• explosion
• bleve
• hazardous material
• separation distance
• safety distance
• accident
• road tank
• risk
• qra