VCE-driven LNG vessel–pipe–flange vulnerability

LNG blast safety is often treated as a shell response problem, while actual loss-of-containment pathways may initiate at flanges, supports, pipe transitions, saddle regions, or local stiffness discontinuities.

LNG blast safety is often simplified as a shell-strength question, but real escalation can begin at connection-critical details: flanges, pipe–vessel transitions, saddle supports, local supports and stiffness discontinuities. These details may deform or unload before the main vessel shell reaches a global failure mode.

A representative horizontal LNG vessel connected to piping, saddles, flanges and connection details was evaluated under VCE loading. The model considered reflected overpressure, drag loading, gravity, internal pressure, shell–solid discretization, contact interaction, and rate-independent elastic–plastic material behavior.

The study uses nonlinear finite element modelling of a representative horizontal LNG vessel connected to piping, flanges, supports and local details under VCE loading. Reflected pressure, drag, gravity, internal pressure, shell–solid discretization, contact interaction and elastic–plastic material response are treated as part of the system-level problem.

Stress, displacement, reaction force and equivalent plastic strain screening were used to identify connection-critical regions and interpret how local deformation could develop into cryogenic-spill consequence pathways.

The analysis focuses on displacement, reaction response, stress/strain fields, PEEQ screening and localization of vulnerable regions. Structural hotspots are then interpreted as credible cryogenic-spill initiation zones and linked to pool spreading, vaporization, dense vapor cloud formation and escalation pathways.

The case demonstrates a mechanically conditioned approach to accident assessment: from explosion loading, to local structural deformation, to leakage-prone regions, to spill and vapor-cloud consequence interpretation.

For industrial clients, this demonstrates why FEA should not stop at global shell contours. The useful result is the chain from blast demand to local deformation, from local deformation to leakage-prone regions, and from leakage-prone regions to inspection, shielding, reinforcement or emergency-isolation priorities.