The impact of spatial layout on safety risks of urban natural gas pipelines

• Published in: Journal of Pipeline Science and Engineering Vol. 4; no. 4; p. 100198
• Main Authors: Li, Jiahang, Zhang, Shengzhu, Wang, Xu, Wu, Zongzhi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.12.2024; KeAi Communications Co. Ltd
• Subjects: Accident consequences; Gas pipeline; Land planning; Quantitative risk assessment; Spatial layout; Gas pipeline; Spatial layout; Quantitative risk assessment; Land planning; Accident consequences
• ISSN: 2667-1433; 2667-1433
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jpse.2024.100198

•This article investigates the influence of spatial layout on the safety risks associated with urban natural gas pipelines.•Barriers can impede the propagation of explosion overpressure, mitigating the consequences of accidents. Conversely, heightened environmental congestion accelerates and disrupts the flame, leading to an increase in explosion overpressure.•The spatial arrangement surrounding the pipeline significantly influences the distribution of risks associated with pipeline failures.•This study can offer insights and guidance for land-use planning in the vicinity, safety control line establishment, and other related considerations. This paper primarily investigates the influence of spatial layout on the safety risks associated with urban natural gas pipelines. Drawing from the actual spatial configuration around the pipeline and local climatic characteristics, the study delves into the distribution patterns of natural gas leakage diffusion and explosion accident consequences, considering various factors such as leakage apertures, soil porosity, and spatial layouts. By integrating the outcomes of the consequence analysis, the quantitative risk of urban natural gas pipelines, accounting for the impact of spatial layout, was computed and juxtaposed with the results of traditional two-dimensional risk analysis. The findings underscore that spatial layout exerts a substantial impact on risk distribution, with significantly elevated risk values in more congested spatial layouts. Additionally, the introduction of a barrier along the pipeline leakage path resulted in a 91.4% reduction in risk compared to scenarios without obstruction. It is evident that the spatial layout surrounding the pipeline plays a pivotal role in influencing the distribution of pipeline failure risks, establishing the spatial environment as a critical factor in risk analysis. This study offers valuable insights for urban land planning, safety control line establishment, and related considerations.