SEDL / STP / STP1040-EB / STP24938S

Evaluating Systems for Oxygen Service Through the Use of Quantitative Fault Tree Analysis

Santay, AJ
Lead Safety Engineer, Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., Allentown, PA

Pages: 10    Published: Jan 1989

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Abstract

In the event of a process plant upset, systems not normally intended for use in oxygen service may be suddenly subject to an oxygen-enriched atmosphere. If the upset condition occurs frequently, a conservative approach would be to design all components as if they were normally in oxygen service. As an alternative, one could calculate the probability of the upset condition to quantitatively assess the risk and recommend corrective measures to further reduce the risk. Quantified fault tree techniques are used to determine a system's compatibility when exposed to oxygen in this manner.