Novel Approach for Blast Resistant Tent

In response to the American Petroleum Institute (API) guidance on siting of portable buildings and trailers in process plants, many facilities have migrated to using tent structures for cafeterias, break rooms, and other uses for both turnarounds and normal operations. The capacity of blast resistant tents to resist blast loads greater than the default tent types defined in API Recommended Practice 756 (API RP 756) must be shown through modeling, calculations, or tests. This paper will present a novel concept for a blast resistant tent and the rigorous modeling and testing conducted that satisfy the API RP 756 requirements for using a blast resistant tent. Analytical models were developed using finite element analysis with fully coupled fluid-structure interaction between the blast wave and tent. Shock tube tests of the novel concept were conducted, as well as a vapor cloud explosion test of a full-scale tent with the unique design features.