Quantification and Control of the Hazards Associated
with the Transport and Bulk Storage of Fireworks
CHAF

 

 

 

Work Programme

FireworksOne important part of the work programme is a literature review to define the current state of knowledge and research with regard to fireworks, reaction mechanisms, storage and impact on the environment, and the regulations in different EU countries. The review will also form a basis for the selection of fireworks articles to be used in the experimental parts of the research programme.

The programme will be structured around a series of experimental evaluations: UN Series 6 (benchmark) tests on a careful selection of fireworks articles, a small-scale articles test and a medium-scale packages test. Before the two reduced-scale tests can be developed, some knowledge is required about the behaviour of fireworks articles, which will come from the benchmark tests. The performance of packaged pyrotechnics ('non-ideal' explosives) in a fire could depend on a number of parameters (type of firework, its explosive content, the loading density in storage, the role of the packaging etc.). By means of the reduced-scale tests, it will be possible to define the key parameters resulting in the build up of a critical pressure for explosion. This fundamental knowledge from the benchmark tests and the reduced-scale tests will be a key factor in enabling the reduced-scale results to be extrapolated to bulk storage situations. Only a full-scale test can provide the highest degree of confidence about safety in the bulk storage of fireworks.

Therefore, a limited number of carefully defined full-scale tests will be carried out for the purpose of validation of the predictions from the reduced-scale tests.

The work programme will be carried out as a series of ten work packages, some of which are concerned with the management of the project, as follows:

WP 1 Management and coordination
WP 2 Critical Review Panel
WP 3 Transfer of information
WP 4 Literature review
WP 5 Instrumentation development
WP 6 Instrumented benchmarking
WP 7 Small-scale characterisation
WP 8 Medium-scale characterisation of packaged fireworks
WP 9 Instrumented full-scale testing
WP 10 Development of testing methodology

Experimental workpackages will address the following sub-objectives:

  • Instrumentation development
    A separate objective is to determine the set of diagnostic instrumentation that is best suited to characterise and quantify the reaction processes in the fireworks articles and packages, between packages and the effect of the surroundings. The instrumentation will be tailored to the type of test and will be tuned throughout the project, in an iterative process according to progress in knowledge.
  • Selection of fireworks articles for use in tests throughout the programme
    An important aspect throughout the programme will be the selection of appropriate fireworks articles for study. Specifically, attention will focus on those that have the potential to demonstrate violent behaviour in bulk storage conditions. All testing programmes (benchmark, small scale, medium scale, full scale) require the selection of fireworks articles to be optimised in order to minimise the number of trials required and to maximise the value of the results.
  • Characterise selected packaged fireworks in standardised UN tests (instrumented benchmark tests)
    A limited number of benchmark UN Series 6 tests will be performed before other experiments are carried out. The results will identify those groups of fireworks that behave critically with regard to UN classification. The second objective is to obtain additional information on the response of the fireworks by utilising extensive additional instrumentation in the tests. This information will be used in developing experimental test set-ups.
  • Small-scale tests
    A small-scale test method will be developed. Tests will be carried out in order to be able to quantify the mechanisms of reaction of single fireworks articles and to identify the factors that determine the propagation of the reaction between multiple articles. This work will provide an insight into the dominant parameters of reaction propagation and pressure build-up. For this purpose, 1-dimensional and 2-dimensional test set-ups will be constructed. The goal of the 1-dimensional test is to observe the ignition, propagation and pressure build up in one dimension. The second test will focus on the propagation of the reaction in 2 dimensions. From these tests it should be possible to identify the critical parameters to be used as an indicator of the performance of bulk packaged fireworks after initiation in a fire.
  • Medium-scale tests
    Confinement of explosives is known to affect their blast parameters but, although this is of critical importance in understanding the effects in bulk storage, there is no information relating specifically to packaged fireworks. Therefore, a medium scale (about 1-2 m3) screening test will be developed that will initiate firstly individual and then packaged fireworks in a closed vessel so that the build up of pressure with time in 3-dimensional storage can be monitored and analysed. Tests will be carried out with fireworks ignited in different confinements. The confinements selected will be representative of those encountered in both bulk storage and transport 'storage' (i.e. large scale transport).
  • Full-scale tests
    Finally, a limited number of full-scale tests are essential and these will be undertaken on a large scale test range by a subcontractor to TNO. In the full-scale tests, data on blast, thermal radiation and fragment debris will be obtained. These tests primarily generate data under full-scale transport and storage conditions for validation and verification of the material characterisation results obtained in the benchmark tests, the small-scale articles characterisation test and the medium scale packages characterisation. Both steel ISO-containers and cast concrete structures will be used to reflect common transport and storage conditions in the EU countries. The data obtained may also serve as a basis of future work. e.g. in developing consequence models to predict fatalities at distance caused by fragments from exploding fireworks stores and transport containers.

Summary of objectives

 At the conclusion of the programme, the CHAF consortium will provide the EU with:
  • The characterisation of selected packaged fireworks in standardised UN (benchmark) tests;

  • A 2-dimensional small-scale test method that generates data on the speed of reaction between fireworks articles;

  • A medium-scale screening test method that generates data on pressure build up caused by packaged fireworks in a fire;

  • Mechanistic characterisation of the burning process in bulk fireworks and definition of the key parameters giving rise to the build up of critical pressures for explosion;

  • Instrumented full-scale tests in steel containers and concrete structures that generate primary data for validation of the reduced scale methods;

  • Insight into the mechanisms that cause the difficulties in extrapolating current UN transport test results to bulk storage situations;

  • Knowledge and methodology to generate adequate information on the risks of bulk storage (and large scale transport) of display fireworks.
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