An integrated approach to early process hazard identification of continuous and batch plants with statechart modelling and simulation

Safety is an important task in chemical plants and plays a significant role throughout the whole design process. To ensure the safety and environmenta l demands and to minimise later plant changes, safety analyses are performe d in early design phases. Due to still manifold drawbacks of applied method s, e.g. Hazop studies, computer-based approaches are subject to research. T his paper introduces a new model-based approach to process hazard identific ation by simulation and reachability examinations of dangerous plant states . In recent published literature the importance of the applicability of haz ard identification approaches to both continuous and batch plants, as well as qualitative model re-usage for selective quantitative simulation has bee n emphasised. This paper demonstrates how the modelling technique Statechar ts allows a qualitative and quantitative examination of both continuous and batch plants. As an application of this procedure, two different example p lants are introduced and some simulation and reachability results shown. Th e article finishes with a comparison to a manual Hazop study. (C) 2001 Else vier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.