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Description:
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Historical evidence has shown that incidents due to hazardous materials (HazMat ) releases during transportation can lead to severe consequences . The public and some agencies such as the Department of Transportation (DOT ) show an increasing concern with the hazard associated with HazMat transportation . Many hazards may be identified and controlled or eliminated through use of risk analysis . Transportation Risk Analysis (TRA ) is a powerful tool in HazMat transportation decision support system . It is helpful in choosing among alternate routes by providing information on risks associated with each route , and in selecting appropriate risk reduction alternatives by demonstrating the effectiveness of various alternatives . Some methodologies have been developed to assess the transportation risk ; however , most of those proposed methodologies are hard to employ directly by decision or policy makers . One major barrier is the lack of the match between available data /database analysis and the numerical methodologies for TRA . In this work methodologies to assess the transportation risk are developed based on the availability of data or databases . The match between the availability of data /databases and numerical TRA methodologies is pursued . Each risk component , including frequency , release scenario , and consequence , is assessed based on the available data /databases . The risk is measured by numerical algorithms step by step in the transportation network . Based on the TRA results , decisions on HazMat transportation could be made appropriately and reasonably . The combination of recent interest in expanding or building new facilities to receive liquefied natural gas (LNG ) carriers , along with increased awareness and concern about potential terrorist action , has raised questions about the potential consequences of incidents involving LNG transportation . One of those consequences , rapid phase transition (RPT ) , is studied in this dissertation . The incidents and experiments of LNG -water RPT and theoretical analysis about RPT mechanism are reviewed . Some other consequences , like pool spread and vapor cloud dispersion , are analyzed by Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC ) model . |