As pioneers in the protective building industry, RedGuard has hundreds of installations covering many applications and protective requirements.
RedGuard blast-resistant buildings
Each project starts with a complete understanding of all hazards at the building location.
With that understanding, RedGuard develops a hazard-specific design. For example, the location may dictate that the building requires protection from an explosion or a jet fire, or it may be designated as a complete shelter-in-place facility. RedGuard can also perform a Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA) to help clients understand hazards.
A QRA is a risk-based study that quantifies the highest priority risks. A QRA can also be used to fulfill the OSHA requirements to perform a facility siting study every five years. Here are a few of the many protective designs and options available to protect the dedicated men and women working in your plants.
Jet fire or pool fire danger
For years, critical steel infrastructure in the oil and gas industry has been protected by intumescent coatings. As requirements for jet fire or pool fire protection have developed, this same proven technology was applied to the specialty modular building market. RedGuard leaders wondered what the effect of a vapor cloud explosion would be on an intumescent coating that was followed by a jet fire in the same event. This question became part of the company’s large-scale blast and fire test in 2020.
In one scenario, experts applied a 300 mil Chartek 8e coating to an 8-foot by 20-foot, 8-psi-rated blast-resistant module (BRM) and then exposed that BRM to an 8-psi free-field blast at 200 feet. After the explosion, the intumescent coating was inspected and showed no damage. It was then exposed to a more than 2,000 degree Fahrenheit fire for 30 minutes to further test the coating. Again, the coating withstood the fire test and performed as well as it would have with no explosion.
Gas danger
Oil, gas and petrochemical facilities can present many dangers from toxic or flammable gases. Many plants have hydrogen sulfide gas or other toxic gas dangers. These plants go to great lengths to provide personal gas detectors, building gas detectors and alarms, and evacuation protocols for gas leaks. Many plants also have flammable gas danger due to process leaks. The refinery’s buildings, including modular buildings, require gas detection to warn of gas release or proximity.
For toxic gas danger, the RedGuard building can be provided with positive pressure, supplied by a fresh-air intake to the HVAC system. That fresh air intake is often elevated to a height above possible gas cloud formation. These buildings are provided with gas detection in the fresh-air intake and other locations on the exterior of the building. Although requirements vary, gas detection is often tied to building alarms, automated damper control, and HVAC shutdown and linked to plant emergency notification systems.
If the danger comes from a flammable gas cloud, RedGuard buildings are provided with similar positive-pressure arrangements and explosion-proof exterior electrical accessories as required by the National Electric Code/NFPA 70.
Storm danger
All modular buildings need to meet local requirements for wind, snow, seismic and other environmental loads. While the ability to withstand a blast would logically lead you to believe that a building will easily withstand wind loads for any place in the world, wind and other environmental loads still need to be calculated, confirmed and stamped by a qualified professional engineer. RedGuard has impact tested its BRMs by firing a projectile from an air cannon, per ICC 500. The company also offers modular commercial tornado shelters (above and below ground) through its RedGuard Diversified Structures division.
Shelter-in-place protection
The protections above and protective requirements are often combined for a complete shelter-in-place protocol. The RedGuard building can become a shelter for plant employees for a specified amount of time, so they can shelter during and after a blast, gas release or other danger until an all-clear signal is given. In these cases, the RedGuard building is a critical part of the plant safety program, and it also becomes the go-to shelter for all plant hazards.
RedGuard stands ready to help you understand all the hazards associated with your project and provide a complete solution to protect plant workers from those hazards.
For more information about blast-resistant buildings, visit us online or call (855) 733-4827.
