A Basic Review of Fudamentals of Thermodynamics and Its Application in Consequence Analysis and Accident Investigation

Once the stage of hazard identification has been concluded in a risk analysis, the next stage corresponds to select and specify the risk scenarios that will be modeled their effects or damages associated. This stage correspond to the consequences analysis and usually takes place in three basic steps: a) source term definition, b) dispersion model and d) effect or damage model.

Depending on the risk scenario to be modeled, several thermodynamic fundamentals or principles are applied in each of these steps supporting or sustaining the behavior and expected results of the consequences analysis model. In this work we propose to review the main thermodynamic fundamentals that support each of the models applied in each of the three steps that define a consequence analysis. This review of basic thermodynamic principles defines a set of different thermodynamic basic principles to apply to representative and different cases of consequence analysis. These basic thermodynamic principles are applied in the consequence modeling of a pair of cases of accident inventions to corroborate their validity.