ComputIT has been awarded a NOK20m R&D contract from Norwegian authorities, through the Research Council of Norway, Statoil, Total, ENI, ConocoPhillips and Gassco, for the development of next-generation advanced fire-simulation technology for the oil and gas industry.
The new technology will be based on the world-leading industrial fire-simulation tool KAMELEON FIREEX KFX®, and will contribute to enhanced understanding of fires, fire safety and prevention of major accidents in the petroleum industry.
Major or catastrophic fires typically occur as a result of escalation of one event into new events. Even small fires can develop quickly and escalate into catastrophes where lives are lost, facilities destroyed and environments contaminated, and this is the main challenge that will be addressed by the fire-modeling specialists at ComputIT.
KFX™ is a result of R&D activities on turbulence and turbulent reacting flows carried out continuously at ComputIT, SINTEF and NTNU since 1969 under the scientific leadership of the awarded professor Bjørn F. Magnussen. KFX represents state-of-the-art fire-simulation and analysis tools, and today it covers simulation of conventional jet and pool fires, complex multiphase spray fires with rainout, well-ventilated and under-ventilated fires in congested geometries, LNG leaks with pool spreading, gas dispersion and LNG fires, water-based fire migration by deluge, monitors, mist and water curtains in complex systems, optimisation of passive fire-protection, flare analysis and general gas dispersion and smoke analysis.
For fires, KFX is validated at a level far beyond other software tools and is recognised by major operators in the risk management and petroleum industries as a preferred calculation tool. It is used in daily operation and production worldwide. Over the past 30 years, KFX has contributed significantly to improved fire safety and large cost-savings in the petroleum industry both onshore and offshore, and the new development represents a significant step forward for a safer industry.