The impact of spatial layout on safety risks of urban natural gas pipelines

Abstract

This paper primarily investigates the influence of spatial layout on the safety risks associated with urban natural gas pipelines. Drawing from the actual spatial configuration around the pipeline and local climatic characteristics, the study delves into the distribution patterns of natural gas leakage diffusion and explosion accident consequences, considering various factors such as leakage apertures, soil porosity, and spatial layouts. By integrating the outcomes of the consequence analysis, the quantitative risk of urban natural gas pipelines, accounting for the impact of spatial layout, was computed and juxtaposed with the results of traditional two-dimensional risk analysis. The findings underscore that spatial layout exerts a substantial impact on risk distribution, with significantly elevated risk values in more congested spatial layouts. Additionally, the introduction of a barrier along the pipeline leakage path resulted in a 91.4% reduction in risk compared to scenarios without obstruction. It is evident that the spatial layout surrounding the pipeline plays a pivotal role in influencing the distribution of pipeline failure risks, establishing the spatial environment as a critical factor in risk analysis. This study offers valuable insights for urban land planning, safety control line establishment, and related considerations.