Accidental Release Flow Rates

Accidental releases of hazardous materials will inevitably occur in any large refrigeration plant ... and the emergency response to such accidental discharges often requires a determination of the release flow rate. A technical article entitled "Source Terms For Accidental Discharge Flow Rates" is available at this web site:

........ http://www.air-dispersion.com/source.html

The article provides and explains the equations used to determine release flow rates from:

• Gas discharge from a pressure source
• Liquid discharge from a pressurized vessel
• Liquid discharge from a non-pressurized vessel
• Evaporation from a non-boiling liquid pool
• Evaporation from a pool of cold boiling liquid
• Discharge of a flashing saturated liquid
• Discharge of a flashing sub-cooled liquid
• Adiabatic flash of a liquified gas release

The equations are provided in either SI metric units or the customary units of the United States. I hope that you find them useful.

Milton Beychok
Newport Beach, California, USA
(Visit me at http://www.air-dispersion.com)