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Since gas explosion is the most frequent accidental event occurring in the oil and gas industry, all safety-related critical elements on the topside of offshore platforms should retain their integrity against extreme pressure demands. Although considerable effort has been devoted to develop blast-resistant design methods for offshore structures, there remain several issues that require further investigation. The duration of the triangular-shaped blast design pressure curve with a completely positive side is usually determined by the absolute area of each measured transient pressure response, using the flame acceleration simulator (FLACS). The negative phase pressure in a general gas explosion, however, is often quite crucial, unlike gaseous detonation or TNT explosion. The objective of this study is to thoroughly examine the effect of the negative phase pressure on structural behavior. A blast wall for a specific floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) topside is considered as an exemplar structure for blast-resistant design to focus only on overpressure because there is no drag pressure in this type of obstacle. Gas dispersion and explosion simulations were carried out using FLACS, while LS-DYNA was used in the nonlinear transient finite element structural analysis.

In Kaohsiung gas explosion, 32 people were killed and 321 others were injured. It raises a concern about the best decision to be made in such little time to reduce the fatalities and property loss. When it comes to chemical hazard emergency operation, it mainly adopts “HAZMAT” response procedure. HAZMAT applies to all kinds of chemical hazards; however, it only roughly outlines the rescue process. The details vary from a variety of hazards. This paper adopted Delphi method to gain the wisdom of experts so as to formulate the important decision-making factors. Firstly, the Delphi method was conducted to gain the consensus of experts from three categories. Through the back and forth procedure, key response factors are modified based on the opinion of experts. Secondly, after confirming the factors, questionnaires were issued to the experts to gain individual’s values. Finally, consensus factors are gained and conclusions are drawn.