| dc.description.abstract | The Mary Kay O=Connor Process Safety Center was formally established at Texas A&M in 1995. This presentation will outline the activities leading up to the establishment of the Center, and the subsequent activities of the center in the areas of education, research and service related to process safety. Educational initiatives have included formal interdisciplinary course instruction for undergraduate and graduate students, laboratory instruction for undergraduates, continuing education for engineering faculty, active participation and contribution to the CCPS Undergraduate Education Committee, organization of workshops on process safety topics for the ASEE, and co-direction of a three-day Workshop on Process Safety for Chemical Engineering Faculty. Present research activities are centered around the design of emergency relief systems for two-phase flows, and reactive (runaway) systems. A consortium involving two departments at Texas A&M, one at Prairie View A&M, three relief valve manufacturers, and three operating companies has been formed to conduct and oversee research on viscous two-phase flow through safety relief valves, which is sponsored by DIERS (the Design Institute for Emergency Relief Systems) of the AIChE. This project involves evaluation of the current state of the art for sizing relief valves for two-phase flow with design recommendations and elucidation of unanswered questions, numerical CFD computer modeling of two- phase flow through valves, an experimental design for obtaining data required to properly validate recommended models and answer outstanding questions, and an experimental program conducted at the test facilities of Anderson, Greenwood and Company to obtain and evaluate the needed data. Reactivity studies are being initiated with an RSST calorimeter and an APTAC calorimeter (on order). Service activities have included establishment of a library of reference meterials and software related to process safety, and a WEB site with information on publications, literature reviews, index of DIERS presentations, research abstracts, etc. Professional service includes chairing the 1996 Process Plant Safety Symposium, sponsored biennially by the South Texas Section of the AIChE, initiation of training in process safety for small and medium businesses through cooperative efforts involving the Texas Engineering Extension Service and the Center for Chemical Process Safety, etc. | en |
