Professional Documents
Culture Documents
PHAST TM
Version: 8.2
Date: March 2019
Reference to part of this report which may lead to misinterpretation is not permissible.
This publication or parts thereof may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means,
including copying or recording, without the prior written consent of DNV GL AS
Table of contents
1 NEW FEATURES APPLICABLE TO ALL PHAST USERS ............................................................ 1
1.1 Option to save the workspace automatically as you work ................................................................ 1
1.2 Choice of whether or not to perform status checks.......................................................................... 2
1.3 Additional options for working with graphs ...................................................................................... 2
The auto-saved files do not overwrite the main workspace file (i.e. the file you opened or saved using
the File menu). They are stored separately in a temporary location underneath the user folder in
C:\Users\<username>\Autosave\<application>\<PID>, where PID is a numerical ID that is unique to a
particular work-session with a given workspace.
If your work-session with the workspace ends normally - i.e. with you closing the workspace or opening
a different workspace - then the auto-saved file for that session will be deleted automatically. However,
if the session does not end normally - i.e. if the program crashes or freezes - then the auto-saved file
will not be deleted.
Every time you start the program, it checks to see if any auto-saved files are
present. If it finds one, it displays a dialog as shown with information about
the file and options for handling the file:
• If you click on Yes, the program will open the auto-saved file as a new
workspace with no name or location defined, and you must use the
Save option to choose the location and name for saving the file, i.e.
you must choose whether or not to overwrite the main workspace file.
When you restore the workspace in this way, the program considers that you are starting a new
work-session rather than continuing the previous one, and it will delete the auto-saved file and
create a new autosave folder with a different PID number, and use this new folder for the auto-
saved files for the new work-session.
• If you click on No, the program will delete that auto-saved file without opening it, and will then
check to see if any additional auto-saved files are present. If it finds one, it will display a dialog
again, with the same options.
Auto-save is disabled during calculations and other operations that change the study data, such as an
Excel import. If an auto-save is in progress at the time you start calculations or import from Excel, the
auto-save operation will fail. The program will not give any message about the failure of the auto-save,
but will wait for the time set by Minutes between saves and then try the auto-save operation again.
If you save the workspace manually, using the File menu, any auto-saved file present at the time of the
save will be deleted. However, if you then make changes to the workspace, an auto-saved file will be
created with those changes. Even if auto-save is enabled, it is still good practice to perform regular
manual saves of the workpsace while you are making changes, in order to further reduce the risk of
losing work.
By default, the options to perform these checks are turned on, as shown in the illustration above, but the
checks can be very time-consuming with a large analysis, leading to long pauses after each change of
input values. You might prefer to turn off the checks while you are working on the input data for the
analysis, and then turn them back on when you are ready to run the calculations.
The Export Graphs… option in this tab will export all of the graph images in the current Graph View to
*.png image files. When you click on the option, a Browse for Folder dialog will appear, prompting you
for the location to create the *.png files. When you OK the dialog, a message will be written to the
Output View about the export of each graph.
Each file will be given a name of the form [Name of group]_[Name of graph].png, e.g.
Dispersion_Footprint.png for the Footprint graph in the Dispersion group.
The title of each series in the list at the top of the dialog is used for
the text in the Graph legend, and you can now change the legend
text by editing the title directly in this list. In the illustration, the
text “Weather “ has just been added to the title for the second
series in the list.
If the option is checked, the pool fire for such a material will be modelled with a luminous zone at the
base of the flame and a smoky zone above, with the relative emissive power and relative height of the
two zones depending on the size of the pool fire and on the value set for the Carbon hydrogen ratio in
the Materials data.
If the option is not checked, the pool fire will be modelled with a single zone, with an emissive power
that is between the values for the luminous and smoky zones.
Note: The Pool fire tab section in the dialog for a Standalone Pool Fire Scenario gives a choice between
using a built-in correlation to obtain the height and tilt-angle of the flame as a function of the diameter
and other variables, or specifying the height and angle directly. The two-zone pool fire modelling
requires the pool fire calculations to use the built-in correlation, so if the Two-zone pool fire model
option is selected, the calculations for a Standalone Pool Fire of a material with a smoky flame will use
the correlation to obtain the flame length and angle, even if Calculate flame length and angle? is set
to No in the Pool Fire Scenario dialog. In this situation, a warning message will be written to the Output
View during the calculations stating that the flame length and angle must be calculated for a two-zone
pool fire with a smoky flame.
In addition, the Is the pipeline buried? checkbox field in the section has been replaced by a Pipeline
surrounding field with the options Buried and Above ground. This change has made the set of input
fields for the default pipeline surroundings consistent with the Section surrounding column in the table
in Variations from default section, which is the same as in the previous version, giving a choice
between Buried and Above ground.
Note: The 3D calculations can be slow, depending on the grid size and resolution set in the Parameters
(described below). To improve the speed of the 3D calculations, you should normally run your Scenario
with the 3D modelling turned off, and then use the Graphs to assess the size of the region of interest
and choose an appropriate resolution for results in this region. You can then turn on the appropriate type
of 3D modelling and follow the steps described below.
You do not have to define obstructions. If the Radiation shielding modelling option is selected but no
obstructions are defined, the calculations will perform 3D radiation modelling without the effect of any
obstructions.
The program is supplied with default values for the grid parameters, but if the total size of the grid is
small compared with the effect distances for a given Scenario, then the 3D Results will not show the full
extent of the effects, i.e. the effects will be truncated.
The grid step size, the range of view times, and the number of steps can have a significant effect on run
times. A smaller step size or larger number of steps will result in longer run times, and you should aim to
set the largest step size and smallest number of steps that meet the objective of your analysis, i.e.
giving the appropriate resolution over the region of interest.
Note: The shape data for imported 3D geometry is not used in the 3D consequence calculations in any
way, i.e. none of the objects will be modelled as obstructions for the radiation shielding calculations.
To import the data, click on the CAD option in the Data tab of the Ribbon Bar. A dialog will open, and
you browse to select the 3D geometry file. The formats currently supported for import are *.dgn,
*.rvm, *.obj and *.mcr. When you have selected the file, click on OK to proceed with the import.
To view the shape data after the import, you can use the Geometry (Beta) View which displays the
shapes for all nodes under the 3D Viewer Set; this includes any 3D geometry data you have imported or
linked directly, and any obstruction shapes defined for radiation shielding. If the Geometry (Beta) View is
not currently visible, you can open it by selecting Geometry (Beta) from the Views list in the View tab of
the Ribbon Bar.
When you select the option, a Results selection dialog will open, listing all of the Scenarios with 3D
results. Once you have selected the Scenarios, you can either click on Next to select from the list of
Weathers, or you can click on Finish to open the 3D Results Viewer.
• •An iso-surface that shows the shape of the effect zone for a single concentration or radiation
level. In the illustration, the iso-surface is the shape at the bottom, with the contours of the
surface shown by a "mesh" of black contour lines. The radiation level for the surface is shown in
the Ribbon Bar rather than in the Display Area. For the illustration, the value is 72.5 kW/m2.
• •An iso-contour plot that shows the contours for a range of concentration or radiation levels
projected onto a plane. In the illustration, the contours are shown on an east-west vertical plane
at 0 m north, i.e. along the central axis of the jet fire. This iso-contour plot shows clearly the
effects of the shielding provided by the wall.
When the Viewer first opens, the pane will be displaying the iso-surface for a representative effect level;
for radiation shielding results, the representative level will be 50% of the maximum radiation level, and
for dispersion results, it will be the minimum concentration of interest.
When you change settings in the Properties dialog, including dragging the slider that sets the location of
the contour plane, you will see the effect immediately and dynamically in the display pane, i.e. you do
not have to OK the Properties dialog in order to see the effect of changes to the Properties settings.
In the previous version there was a single detonation option called Detonation. The Detonation VBR
option is the equivalent of this previous option.
If Model option is set to Detonation VBR, then the explosion of a vapour cloud will be modelled as a
detonation if the volume blockage ratio (VBR) of the obstructed region is greater than the value set for
Critical VBR for detonation, and if it is set to Detonation flame speed, the explosion will be modelled
as a detonation if the flame speed is greater than the value set for Flame speed for detonation (Mach
number).
A detonation is modelled using entire flammable mass in the cloud, and the strongest explosion strength,
i.e. with a confined strength of 10 for a Multi-Energy region, or with a Mach Number of 5.2 for a Baker-
Strehlow-Tang region.
If Model option is set to Normal explosion, then detonation will not be modelled, even if the volume
blockage ratio of the obstructed region is greater than the Critical VBR for detonation or the flame
speed is greater than the Flame speed for detonation.
1 49744 Scenarios for a Long pipeline without valves will give calculation errors about
incomplete input data if you had previously defined valves but left the input data for
the valves incomplete
Description If you set the Number of valves to greater than zero in the Long pipe tab of the
dialog for a Long pipeline, leave the input data for all of the valves incomplete, and
then set the Number of valves to zero, the Scenarios for the Long pipeline will
give calculation errors about the data being incomplete.
In this situation you should set Number of valves to 1 or more, complete the
input data for all of the rows in the table of valves, and then set Number of
valves back to zero. The calculations will then run successfully, and will not model
the effect of any valves.
Description In some situations, the Max Footprint Dispersion Graph may show “scalloping”, i.e. a
“rippling” effect along the shape of the contours. The appearance of this effect
depends on the settings for the Concentration grid definition fields in the Dispersion
Parameters, and is most likely to happen when grid resolution is high.
In previous versions, the program added the value for the liquid head to the
calculated upstream pressure, and used this increased value in the discharge
calculations, which gave flow rate values that were higher than the specified fixed
flow rate. This has been fixed, and the liquid head is now never included in the
calculations in this situation.
4 64802 Some 3D Effects calculations not being performed in first run of an upgraded
workspace
Description For a freshly upgraded workspace with effect levels for 3D effects modelling defined
in the Effects tab of the Study Tree, the first run of the calculations after upgrading
would not run all effect levels for all Scenarios. If you cleared the results after this
first run and then reran the calculations, you would see an increase in the effect
distances, as the contours would include effects from Scenarios that had been
omitted in the first run.
This problem affected upgraded workspaces only, not newly created workspaces,
and it has been fixed in this version.
6 D-13398 In some situations, changing the height of interest for dispersion graphs could cause
toxic graphs to be regenerated
Description If a Graph View had no results for the Toxic Footprint Graphs at the height of
interest set in the General Parameters, and you used the Edit Settings dialog for
the Graph View, both the dispersion graphs and the toxic graphs would be
regenerated, although the Height of Interest in the Context Panel would still show
the value set in the parameters. This behaviour was incorrect, as changing the
height of interest in the Edit Settings dialog should only affect dispersion graphs,
and toxic graphs should always display results at the height set in the parameters.
This has been fixed.
Description The discharge calculations may fail for a time-varying Scenario if the material is a
mixture, especially if the conditions are near the critical point.
The time-varying calculations are more likely to run successfully if you simplify the
mixture, e.g. to two components that have similar properties. If the calculations
still fail with the simplified mixture, you should perform the time-varying
calculations using a single pure component.
Non-time-varying calculations with the Leak or Short pipe Scenarios may run
successfully for the mixture, especially if you have a licence for the multi-
component modelling and select the multi-component option for the Equipment
item. With the initial release rate from these calculations and with time-varying
results for a simplified mixture or single component, you could make an estimate of
the time-varying behaviour and define this in a User-defined source Scenario.
2 47089 The Normal boiling point can be edited for a mixture that is using the Phast64
property method template, and this will give inconsistencies in the modelling
Description If you set the template for a mixture to Phast64 and click on Calculate, the Normal
boiling point will be one of the fields in the list of properties that is enabled and
editable. However, if you change the value, you will find that inconsistencies occur
for Equipment items that have the mixture selected, both in the calculations of
phase and limits in the Materials tab, and in the consequence calculations for
Scenarios.
If you have edited the normal boiling point for any mixture, you should reset it to
the calculated value by editing the mixture and clicking on Calculate.
3 47108 Time-varying short pipe Scenarios can take a long time to run or give oscillations in
the discharge results
Description Some Time-varying short pipe Scenarios experience problems with numerical
convergence which can give long run times and oscillations in the discharge
conditions. Pressurized liquid Scenarios are those most likely to experience these
problems.
Editing the Material and setting the Property method template to SRK-
IdealFugacity may improve the performance for such Scenarios.
Description If you have data displayed in the Grid View, and you open the Units of Measure
dialog and make a change to the selection of units (e.g. from feet to metres), you
will find when you return to the Grid View that the values displayed in the Grid
have been converted to the new units (e.g. they are the correct values in metres) ,
but you may find that the units stated in the header are still the previous units
(e.g. “ft” rather than “m”).
If you change the selection for the Grid Filter and then change back, the units
should be updated in the headers.
5 47242 Upgraded standalone pool vaporization Models from v6 not included in any Model
Selection
Description If you upgrade a v6.54 or v6.7 file that includes a standalone Pool Vaporization
Model, the Model will be upgraded as a Spill Scenario under an AST Equipment item,
but it will be removed from the Model Selection which means that it will not be
included when you run the calculations, no matter which Run Row is selected.
The upgrade is handled in this way because the standalone Pool Vaporization Model
can not be used in the risk calculations, but the Spill Scenario can. The Spill
Scenario will be incomplete on upgrade because there is no event frequency
specified, and it is removed from the Model Selection so that it does not cause
problems with the risk calculations.
You should decide whether or not you want to include the Scenario in the risk
calculations. If you decide not to include it but you do want to be able to run the
consequence calculations for it, you should create a separate Model Selection and
Run Row for it, and only run the consequences calculations for that Run Row.
6 49542 Reports flagged out of date when you change the averaging time for the graph
Description If you have both Reports and Graphs open for a Scenario, and you use the Edit
Settings dialog for the Graphs to change the selection of averaging time, you will
find that the Reports are shown as being out of date, even though the change to the
averaging time is only relevant to the Graphs.
7 49599 Jet Fire Contour graph for a standalone Jet Fire Scenario shown as out of date after
checking option to Show Flame Shape
Description If the option to plot side view contours is selected for a standalone Jet Fire
Scenario, the option to Show Flame Shape will be enabled in the Consequence
tab of the Ribbon Bar when the Jet Fire Contour Graph is selected. If you check this
option, the Graphs will be shown incorrectly as being out of date.
Description If you run the calculations for a User-defined Source Scenario and then change the
input data for the Scenario, the results will not be cleared and the Scenario will be
shown with a green tick in the Study Tree, showing that it has results that the
program regards as up to date. To be able to rerun the calculations for the Scenario
with the changed input data, you must right-click on the Scenario and select Clear
results.
Description The dispersion calculations for vertical releases can be problematic, particularly
when determining downwind concentrations. The algorithms are based on tangents
to the centreline, and therefore vertical or near vertical clouds can run into
difficulties that require special handling. In some cases it has become apparent that
this can lead to concentration predictions that are generally over-conservative. In
most cases these problems can be solved by reducing the release angle so it is just
off vertical, e.g. to 85 degrees from the horizontal.
10 D-12431 A User-defined Source Scenario generated from a Scenario with multi-rate time-
varying discharge results will give Jet Fire results that are different from those for the
original Scenario
Description The right-click menu for a source Scenario that has results present will include the
option to generate a User-defined Source Scenario. The discharge results for the
selected Scenario will be used as the definition of the release observers for the
User-defined Source Scenario.
When you generate a User-defined Source Scenario from a Scenario that has
Method for calculating average rate set to Up to 10 rates, a warning message
about the differences in jet fire results will be written to the Output View.
Description If the value set for the Concentration of Interest is 1 ppm or lower, then the
Summary Report may give values for the distance to reach this concentration, even
though this concentration was not in fact exceeded during the dispersion. The
program will report a distance to a concentration if the concentrations are within
either 1 ppm or 1% of the target value, whichever is smaller, and this can give
misleading results if the target value itself is of the order of 1 ppm.
DIGITAL SOLUTIONS
DNV GL is the world-leading provider of software for a safer, smarter and greener future in the energy,
process and maritime industries. Our solutions support a variety of business critical activities including
design and engineering, risk assessment, asset integrity and optimization, QHSE, and ship management.
Our worldwide presence facilitates a strong customer focus and efficient sharing of industry best practice
and standards.