Simulation of influences of leakage-induced explosion on control chamber at gas compressor station

At gas compressor stations along a gas pipeline, control chamber and duty room are often set facing the process area and configured with non-fully-closed glass windows. Once any leakage and explosion happen in the process area, the control chamber may be harmed significantly. Under given meteorological conditions, operation pressure and the distance between control chamber and process area, influences of a gas explosion on control chamber depends on the size of leakage opening. SAFETI software is used for analog calculation of leakage-induced explosion under different leakage openings in a typical gas compressor station. The results show that (1) if the leakage opening is less than 5 mm, no explosion may be induced; (2) if the leakage opening is 29 mm or less, the induced explosion may bring small influences on buildings; (3) if the leakage opening is 71 mm, the induced explosion may destroy seriously doors, windows and roofs, or even collapse the control room; and (4) if the leakage opening is 90 mm or more, the induced explosion may cause the building collapse or fall. Although the distance between control chamber and process area meets the specification required, the control chamber may be seriously affected by shock wave of leakage-induced explosion. Therefore, it is suggested to reinforce the existing control chambers in service by explosion-proof measures and carefully calculate the safe distance for new engineering projects.