Daniel Fujinaga shares how the Advanced Jet Fire Model can help with
your pipeline risk management.
Redefining Pipeline Fire Risk
Estimate hazard zones for igniting releases from buried pipelines carrying natural gas, hydrogen, or blended fuels using this advanced jet-fire model.
Developed with support from Alberta Innovates and NRCan, the model applies a physics-based jet-fire/fireball framework that reflects behavior seen in large-scale crater fire tests.
Why Jet Fire Modeling Matters
Accurate fire risk modeling is essential for flammable products. The advanced jet-fire model helps simulate the consequences of a release and ignition within a pipeline, enabling operators to estimate hazard zones and understand how flames interact with surrounding infrastructure and materials. By capturing the transition from a transient fireball to a decaying jet fire, and accounting for crater effects, wind, and flame geometry, the model provides a more realistic representation of fire behavior. It also considers outflow decay over time, which reduces fire intensity as the release progresses. These capabilities support more accurate risk assessments, helping pipeline operators and regulators reassess impact zones and evaluate the risks of transporting hydrogen in both new and legacy infrastructure. Ultimately, this leads to better emergency preparedness and safer pipeline operations.
What Makes This Model Different?
C-FER’s Pipeline Integrity and Risk Management team developed this model using new research and large-scale testing data that allowed for significant improvements in accuracy and applicability.
Key Features
Capture the transition from a transient fireball to a decaying jet-fire
Account for crater effects, wind, and flame geometry
Faster computation with included simplified regression-based version
Integrate into C-FER’s PIRAMID software for quantitative risk assessments
- Fireball-to-Jet Fire Transition: The model captures the full lifecycle of a release event—from the initial fireball formation at ground level to its decay and the emergence of a sustained jet fire.
- Crater Effects, Wind, and Flame Geometry: Crater formation affects flame shape and intensity. Larger craters produce wider, shorter flames due to early entrainment. Wind can cool the flame but also increase its interaction with nearby combustible materials. Radiative heat mapping helps estimate where heat is most intense.
- Faster Computation with Regression-Based Version: A regression-based model was developed and validated against the physics-based version to provide faster results without sacrificing reliability.
- Integration with PIRAMID Software: Both model versions are incorporated into C-FER’s PIRAMID software, enabling pipeline operators and regulators to perform quantitative risk assessments with improved precision.
Together, these tools help pipeline operators and regulators reassess impact zones and evaluate the risks of transporting hydrogen in both new and legacy infrastructure.
Model Efficiency and Application
While the physics-based model offers high accuracy, it is computationally intensive. To improve usability, a regression-based model was developed and validated against the physics-based version. This faster model maintains accuracy and is suitable for broader applications.
Both models will be included in the next release of the PIRAMID software, with the physics-based model reserved for specialized assessments requiring high precision.
Impact on Pipeline Safety
These advancements enable more accurate risk assessments, helping operators plan and maintain pipelines more effectively. By improving consequence estimation, the models support safer pipeline operations and better emergency preparedness.
Contributor
Steven Swaffield
Research Engineer
Steven Swaffield is a Research Engineer with a BSc in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Alberta. His expertise includes experimental fluid dynamics, heat transfer, flow loop design and construction, and data analytics.
