Questions and answers

Ask The Expert Series:

Asphyxiation modelling
Date: 27/10/2021

1 Are there cases where mix of two inert gases are stored in a building? Is it
possible to model such a case in Phast?
If you mean a mixture of inert gas, it is possible to create a mixture and model an in-building release in Phast. If
you mean two different inert gas storages, each storage should be modelled separately.

2 Where do you get figures for natural ventilation indoors and outdoors?
The building ventilation rate is determined by the building ventilation system. There is no uniform data for ventilation
rate.

3 Is still this equation from DNV valid? PHAST concentration of interest

(fraction) = [Actual concentration of interest (fraction) - 0.79] / [0.21]?
The equation above is valid if using concentration threshold of nitrogen approximately. Please refer to the webinar
recording and slides to learn how to get concentration of interest using different options in the concentration-based
method.

4 What is the minimum rate we can use for N2 leak?

There is no minimum rate in Phast. Note when the release rate is too low, the high concentration zone can be very
small which won’t result in asphyxiation.

5 Is Safeti an added feature?

Safeti is the industry standard QRA software developed by DNV. Safeti includes Phast. Please refer to DNV website
to learn more. Please contact digital@dnv.com if you need a demo of Safeti.

6 How are the equations modified for mixtures?

A mixture can be modelled in the same way as a pure component. If there is no oxygen in the mixture, the entire
mixture can potentially cause asphyxiation. If you are interested in the concentration of nitrogen or carbon dioxide,
you can set it as “Material to track” in Phast and enter relevant concentration of interest.

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Asphyxiation modelling
7 When using the toxic probit method to determine the threshold
concentration, are any extra steps required to account for the
concentration in the surrounding air (similar to what was done in the
concentration-based method)?
When you use probit method, the concentration and exposure time are taken into account, which are from the
dispersion calculations. No extra steps are required to account for the concentration in the surrounding air.

If you are still interested in the concentration, you can use the concentration-based method.

8 Can you show the formula for total nitrogen for in building release?
The formular is showing below which was presented in the webinar.

9 Please provide the reference source for equation used for concentration
to use in Phast.
The equation is based on how Phast works. The concentration reported by Phast doesn’t include the component in
the air (N2, CO2, etc.). In order to capture the correct total concentration of N2 or CO2, you need to use the equation
calculate the concentration of interest which is required in Phast.

10 How to model the asphyxiant from incomplete combustion i.e. CO?

CO is a toxic material. The reason why CO causes asphyxiation is different from inert gases.

CO is not included in the normal air. You can model toxic dispersion for CO which is very straightforward.

11 How would you model N2-dispersion inside a building (not assuming

complete mixing in the building)?
The in-building model in Phast assumes the released N2 mixes homogeneously with the air inside the building. The
concentration inside the building is uniform.

If you want to run an incomplete mixing, CFD simulation is the recommended approach. KFX software has the
dispersion and ventilation model for this purpose.

12 A) What about unignited hydrocarbon asphyxiation? Can we model our

release based on HC composition and then highlighted oxygen
concentration in dispersion side view graph?
B) Can you also consider asphyxiation from flammable gases e.g. methane?
Yes. You can use Phast to model unignited hydrocarbon asphyxiation. Hydrocarbons are not present in the normal
air. You can use Method 1 in the webinar to determine the concentration and set it as concentration of interest.
Please refer to the recording and slide to find more details.

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Asphyxiation modelling
13 A) Why cannot we include post processing manually for nitrogen
concentration within PHAST itself? It would be easy for the user?
B) Can the post processing be conducted within Phast? To account for the
concentration of an inert gas during a release in addition to the
concentration already in air?
Thanks for the valuable feedback and we will consider this in the future versions.

14 a) CO2 actually works like a toxic material, and is lethal at concentrations

lower than those necessary for reducing O2 concentrations to hazardous
levels? So, a probit equation is appropriate for CO2?
b) The incident in Germany caused injuries from CO2 according to the slide
shown. Was this due to the toxicity or the asphyxiation? CO2 has a probit
n of 8, which implies that CO2 is toxic as well as an asphyxiation hazard?
According to NIOSH (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16499405/), at low concentrations, gaseous CO2 appears to
have little toxicological effect. At higher concentrations it leads to an increased respiratory rate, tachycardia, cardiac
arrhythmias and impaired consciousness. Concentrations >10% may cause convulsions, coma and death.

The topic is about which O2 concentration you are looking at. If the corresponding CO2 concentration is higher than
10%, probit equation sounds appropriate. This will be your engineering judgement.

15 A) Should the averaging time be 3600 s when considering asphyxiation

hazards?
B) The averaging time for Nitrogen inert was 3600. Generally for dispersion
its 600. Any specific reason or guidline for this ? or was it just for demo?
3600s are used for the demo purpose only. In the first demo, Protective Action Criteria (PAC) concentration was
used which is corresponding to averaging time of 3600s.

Averaging time is another topic which can be determined by the user. Please refer to Section 3.7 of UDM_Theory
of Phast Technical Documentation to find more information about averaging time. You may also watch this video to
know more.

16 What info required to input into the indoor dispersion?

You will need to specify the ventilation type and air change rate for the building type. You can then draw the building
the on the map and specify the building height so that Phast will capture the building geometry.

17 How do you consider the HVAC air changes within the room?
You can specify the ventilation type as forced ventilation in the building type in Phast.

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Asphyxiation modelling
18 How can SAFETI be used for modelling the risks of increased fire effects
from an oxygen enriched atmosphere - the material in SAFETI has no
probit values?
You may refer to Section 3.5.3 of BEVI manual 3.2 to see how to model the oxygen risk. The dispersion model in
Phast/Safeti will be able to calculate the oxygen enriched zone which can be used in risk calculations in Safeti. Note
oxygen is present in the air.

19 Could you use the model to calculate for concentration levels of cargo
tanks, for instance before and after cleaning?
It is assumed you refer to the concentration level of inert gas in the cargo tank.

Phast is primarily used to models releases outdoor. It also models indoor releases and reports indoor and outdoor
concentrations and outdoor effects.

You can use the in-building model in Phast to determine the concentration of inert gas inside the cargo tank before
and after cleaning using scenarios suitable for your case. Note that you need to select the correct ventilation rate
and the concentration in the entire indoor space is assumed to be homogenous. Please contact
software.support@dnv.com with your specific case so that we can advise accordingly.

20 Do N2 and CO2 have the same threshold for asphyxiation?

No. The threshold doesn’t have to be the same. Note in the normal air, the concentration of N2 is 78%, while the
concentration of CO2 is only 0.04%.

• If you use Method 1 (Option 1 - Concentration Threshold of Inert Gas), you are recommended to use
threshold from reliable sources.

• If you use Method 1 (Option 2 – Concentration Threshold of Oxygen), the concentration of interest is derived
from oxygen level which is the same for both N2 and CO2. However, if we take into account the N2 and
CO2 in the air, the concentration of N2 and CO2 will be different.

DNV | digital@dnv.com | dnv.com/digital

Asphyxiation modelling