Importance of Connections in High-Pressure Barricade Design

High pressure testing and operation of industrial tools and equipment can be hazardous to personnel and property in the event of an accidental mechanical failure or release of contained pressure. Hazard barricades are commonly installed around equipment to protect nearby personnel or property from projectile impacts or overpressure. The ASME Standard PCC-2 “Repair of Pressure Equipment and Piping” allows the use of hazard barricades for this purpose when a safe standoff distance cannot be satisfied, but it currently provides minimal guidance for engineered design. Other references provide guidance for preventing projectile perforation of a barricade. While perforation prevention is a key component of shield design, properly anchoring a shield and inter-connecting the shield components will make the difference between an effective barricade application and a barrier that could potentially compound the consequences of an accidental failure. This paper investigates the importance of engineered structural connections and consideration of global structural response in the design of protective barricades. The structural models focus on impact loading of steel plates and bolted connections, and the results are directly compared to test results in terms of effective barrier response.