Evaluation and Optimization of Resilience and Reliability of Water Supply Pumps of Fire Extinguishing Systems in a Process Industry

Chemical installations are comprised of highly complex process systems. Due to the intricacies of processes and the digitization of operational procedures, modeling and predicting process incidents have become challenging issues in process industries. Despite advancements in process safety knowledge, improvements in incident analysis tools, and the introduction of safety management systems, the rate of incidents in process industries continues to rise. Therefore, an integrated approach to evaluating performance and assessing risks in process industries is crucial for preventing and mitigating major incidents.
Major risks in process industries include fire, explosion, and the release of toxic substances. Resilience, the ability of a system to withstand unforeseen events and destructive incidents, is a crucial feature for system integrity. Modeling and assessing system resilience are essential due to its effective role in reducing the risks associated with inevitable system destruction. Additionally, considering the reliability, accessibility, and maintenance of the system and its components plays a significant role in enhancing process safety in chemical and process industries.
Hence, a risk assessment approach that analyzes safety, increases resilience, and ensures the reliability and accessibility of systems is needed. This approach should have the capability to account for the dynamic nature of complex engineering system failures and dynamically changing conditions. Considering cumulative effects of scenarios leading to system failure, vulnerability assessment of adjacent units facing incidents, and quantitatively assessing the vulnerability of neighboring units provide a suitable approach to reduce cascading and domino effects resulting from events like fire and explosion.
Storage tanks in process industries are vulnerable to intensified effects from thermal radiation during fires and shockwaves during explosion incidents. Vulnerability analysis and estimating the probability of damage to secondary targets exposed to intensified incident vectors are fundamental steps in assessing the risk of cascading and domino effects. Firefighting water pumps in industries play a key role in controlling and extinguishing fires by increasing water pressure or supplying the required volume of water. Typically, these pumps are of the centrifugal type. Disruptions in the operation of these pumps create hazardous conditions and impact system safety. Failures leading to breakdowns in pump performance can occur due to factors such as mechanical imbalance, fluid oscillations, increased loads, and electrical disturbances.
Mechanical imbalance may result from excessive pump vibrations or shaft misalignment. Therefore, considering scenarios leading to faults and failures in firefighting water pumps ensures success in fire control strategies. Additionally, considering the resilience and reliability of the firefighting water supply system is vital in critical industries from a safety perspective. Firefighting pumps must be capable of operating during emergencies or continuous tasks. Improving the reliability of pumps in parallel pump systems widely used in industries is of great importance. However, pumps often operate under conditions outside their design, reducing their efficiency and reliability.
Pumps are crucial components in water supply systems for maintaining sufficient pressure. To date, few studies have been conducted on the assessment and optimization of resilience and reliability in firefighting water supply systems (pumps) in process industries. Therefore, extensive studies are needed to analyze safety with practical application to reliability, accessibility, maintainability, and resilience of these systems. These studies should consider various scenarios for pump failures and fire scenarios in units, defining the optimal number of active and ready-to-operate components in the system based on defined fire scenarios, and optimizing parameters based on potential fire risks.
Hence, the present study aims to evaluate and optimize the resilience and reliability of the firefighting water supply system (pumps) in a process industry facing various fire scenarios. It will determine the optimal number of active and ready-to-operate components in the system based on defined fire scenarios and optimize parameters based on potential fire risks.