In this page, safety related acronyms will be listed. Acronyms should be carefylly examined for conflicts. For example, a company had a list of confidential acronyms to follow. A secretary got an envelope marked “DI” . She immediately shredded the envelope following the instruction of the acronym meaning “Destroy Immediately”: No one checked that “DI” is also the initial of the top boss! Besides acronyms, some fundamental terminologies are also included.
ACRONYM EXPLANATION
AAR American Association of Railroads
ABET Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology
ACCP ASNT Central Certification
ACCUMULATION It is the preesure rise above MAWP, and is shown as % figure.
ACGIEH American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists
ACMH Advisory Commission of Major Hazard
ACT Alternate Control Technology
AEC Atomic Energy Commision
AGA American Gas Association
AIChE American Institute of Chemical Engineers
AIHA American Industrial Hygiene Association
AHJ Authority Having Jurisdiction
AISI American Iron and Steel Institute
AIT Auto-Ignition Temperature. It is the temperature above which a flammable substance ignites itself.
ALA Americal Lifelines Alliance
ALOHA Area Location Of Highly Hazardous Atmosphere
ANSI American National Standard Institute
API American Petroleum Institute
API 12B, 12D, 12F, 620 Low Pressure Tank (10-inch water column to 15 psig)
API RP 80 Guidance for the Definition of Onshore Gas Gathering Lines
API 500 Classification for Electrical Installations of Petroleum Facilities
API 510 Pressure Relief Inspection Code
API 520 Parts I & II Sizing, Selection, and Installation of Pressure Relief Devices (including two-phase flow)
API 521 Pressure Relieving and Depressuring Systems (ISO 23251)
API 526 Flanged Steel Pressure Relief Valves: orifice designation, flow area, inlet & outlet size, pressure rating, material of construction, and dimensions
API 527 Seat Tightness of Pressure Relief Valves
API 579 Fitness for Service.
API 650 Atmospheric Tanks with minimum pressure of 0.5 psig
API 653 Tank Inspection, Repair, Alteration, and Reconstruction
API 752 Facility Siting Standard (Hazard associated with location)
API 1102 Guidelines for Steel Pipelines Crossing Highways and Railroiads
API 2000 Venting Atmospheric and Low Pressure Storage Tanks
API 2350 Overfill Protection for Storage Protection in Petroleum Facilities
ARC Accelerating Rate Calorimeter
ARSST Advanced Reactive Systems Screening Tools (Fauske Associates)
ASCE American Society of Civil Engineers
ASME American Society of Mechanical Engineers
ASME – I Power Boilers
ASME – II Stress Values for Material of Construction
ASME – III Nuclear Facilities: Rules for Constructions
ASME – IV Heating Boilers: Rules for Constructions
ASME – V Non-destructive Testing
ASME – VI Care and Operation of Heating Boilers
ASME – VII Care of Power Boilers
ASME – VIII Rules for Construction of Pressure Vessels
ASME – VIII Division 1 MAWP up to 3000 psig
ASME – VIII Division 2 MAWP >3000 psig
ASME – VIII Division 3 MAWP 10,000 psig to 100,000 psig and higher
ASME – IX Welding, Brazing, and Fusing Qualifications
ASME – X Fiberglass and Reinforced Plastic Pressure Vessels
ASME – XI In-service Inspection of Nuclear Power Plant Components
ASME – XII Construction and Continued Service of Transport Tanks
ASME – XIII Rules for Pressure Relief Devices
ASME B31.1 Pressure Piping for Power Plants
ASME B31.3 Pressure piping for Petrochemical Plants
ASME B31.4 Pressure Piping for Transportation Systems for Liquids and Slurries
ASME B31.8 Pressure Piping for Gas Transportation and Distribution
ASME NB – 18 Pressure Relief Device Certification including a list of Certified Manufacturers
ASME NB – 23 National Inspection Board
ASME NBBI National Board of Boiler Inspection
ASME RPT1 Fiber-Reinforced Plastic Pressure Vessels 15 psig maximum MAWP
ASME PTC 25 Performance Test Code (Pressure Relief Devices to determine flow capacity, flow resistance)
ASHRAE American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers
ASNT American Society of Non-destructive Testing
ASTM American Society of Testing Materials
ATC Accute Toxic Concentration
AWS American Welding Society
AWWA American Water Works Association
BACKPRESSURE It is the static pressure existing at the outlet of a relief device. It is the sum of superimposed backpressure and built-up backpressure.
BAM Bundes Anstalt Fur Materialprufung. BAM is a national research institute in West Berlin. The BAM test is done to determine if a material undergoes detonation due to friction or impact.
BLEVE Boiling Liquid Expanding Explosion
Blowdown It is the difference between the set pressure and the reseating pressure expressed as a percent gauge set pressure. Blowdown = [(Set Pressure, psig – Reseat Pressure, Psig)/(Set Pressure, psig)]x100
BS British Standard
BSI British Standard Institute
BSEN British Standard European Norm
Built-up Backpressure The increase in pressure developed in the discharge header as aresult of the flow after the relief device opens
CCPS Center for Chemical Process Safety
CEN Comete European de Normalisation
Chattering It is the noise created by the moving parts of a relief valve hitting the flange of the vessel nozzle due to high inlet line pressure loss with the potential of loss of the valve.
CFR Code of Federal Regulation
CGA Compress Gas Association
CI Chlorine Institute
COD Chemical Oxygen Demand
CSA Canadian Standard Association
CSB Chemical Safety
CV Conservation Vent
Cycling Relatively slow opening and closing of a relief valve where the moving part of the relief valve does not contact the supporting nozzle is called cycling. Cycling does not cause noise.
DAS Detonation Arrestor System
DDT Deflagration-to-Detonation Transition
DHA Defense Health Agency
DIERS Design Institute for Emergency Relief System
DIN Deutsche Industrial Norms (German Industrial Standard)
DOD Depart Of Defense (USA)
DOT Department Of Transportation
EN Europeean de Normalisation (European Norm)
EPA Environmental Protection Agency
EPRS Emergency Pressure System
EPSR Explosion Pressure Shock Resistance
ERS Emergency Relief System
ESG Environmental, Social, and Governance
ETA Event Tree Analysis
FA Flame Arrester
FEMA Federal Emergency Management Agency
FFTA Fuzzy Fault Tree Analysis
FID Flame Ionization Detector
Fluttering It is the rapid cycling of a pressure relief valve without the disk contacting the seat. It causes rapid wear of the moving parts of a relief valve eventually making the valve inoperable.
FMECA Failure Mode, Effects, and Criticality Analysis
FMR Factory Mutual Research
FP Flash Point
GCPS Global Congress on Process Safety
GPREHS Guidelines for Pressure Relief and Effluent Handling Systems (DIERS Publication)
HAP Hazardous Air Pollutant
HAZOP HAZard and OPerability
HTTA High Temperature Hydrogen Attack
ICRMS International Chemical Regulatory Monitoring System
IDLH Immediately Dangerous to Life and Health.
IIAR International Institute of Ammonia Refrigeration
IIChE Indian Institute of Chemical Engineers
IEC International Electrochemical Commision, Geneva, Switzerland
IMO International Maritime Organization
ISA International Society of Automation
ISD Inherently Safer Design
ISO International Standards Organization
IST Inherently Safer Technology
ITPM Inspection, Testing, and Preventative Maintenance program
JRC Joint Research Center
LDAR Leak Detection And Repair
LPG Liquified Petroleum Gas
LFM Lower Flammability Limit. It is the lowest concentration of a flammable fluid in the air-fuel mixture below which the air-fuel will not burn.
LOC Limiting Oxygen (Oxidant) Concentration
MARP Maximum Allowable Relieving Pressure. It is determined by: MARP = MAWP x( 1 + per cent accumulation)
Material Balance Mass accumulation within a system = Mass input – Mass output + Mass generation – Mass consuption. It is also known as the Continuity Equation.
MAWP Maximum Allowable Working Pressure
MDMT Minimum Design Metal Temperature
MESG Maximum Experimental Safe Gap
MIC Minimum Ignition Current
MIE Minimum Ignition Energy
MI Mechanical Integrity
MOC Minimum Oxygen Concentration. It is the minimum mol percent of oxygen in air plus fuel required to propagate flame.
MSDS See SDS.
MTSR Maximum Temperature of Synthetic Reaction. It is the maximum temperature attained as a result of coolant failure during the reaction period, caused by the remaining unconverted reactant going to completion without cooling.
NAICS North Amreican Industry Classification System
NAS National Academy of Science
NB-18 Pressure Relif Device Certification (Red Book)
NFPA National Fire Protection Agency:
NFPA-30 Flammable and combustible liquid code
NFPA -58 Liquid Petroleum Gas: Storage and Handling
NFPA -59A Storage, Handling, Production of Liquified Natural Gas
NFPA -68 Deflagration venting
NIOSH National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health
NIST NIST is National Institute of Standards and Technology – a federal agency within the U.S. Deprtment of Commerce to advance measurement science, standards, and technology.
OVERPRESSURE The rise of inlet presssure of a relief device above its set pressure during relief flow expressed as a per cent of gauge set presuure of the relief device is callued overpressure.So, OVERPRESSURE = (Pressure during relief flow in psig – Set Pressure, psig)/Set Pressure, psig) x 100. ASME sets the inlet line and outlet line pressure drop based on OVERPRESSURE.
NRC National Research Council
PED Pressure Equipment Directive: It is the European Union (EU) standard for equipment with maximum pressure more than 0.5 bar gauge.
PEL Permissible Exposure Limit
PHA Process Hazard Analysis
PRV Pressure Relief Valve. It is a general term used to mean a reclosing device which allows fluid flow when the pressure reaches its set point and recloses when the pressure falls below the set pont. Three other similar terms are also used to make a fine difference in application: (1) Relief valve: same purpose but used for liquid service, (2) Safety valve: same purpose, but used for gas, steam, or air service, and pops open, (3) Safety Relief valve: used for gas or liquid service.
PSM Process Safety Management
PTB Physikalisch Technische Bundesanstalt (Germany)
PTC Performance Test Codes (See ASME)
OSHA Occupational Safety and Health Administration
RAGAGEP Recognized and Generally Accepted Good Engineering Practice
RPTE Rapid Phase Transition Explosion
RMP Risk Management Program (EPA)
RSM Response Surface Methodology
Rupture Disk Rupture disk (RD) is a non-reclosing self-sacrificial device that protects an equipment from overpressure by bursting at the specified burst pressure (difference between the inlet and outlet pressure) marked on the disk within code-allowed tolerance. It can be installed before or after a PRV, or parallel to PRV. Threre are two major types of rupture disks: Flat and pre- bulged. They could be fragmenting and non-framenting. The components of a RD are a disk holder and the disk itself. The Manufacturing Design Range (MDR) of a disk is the difference Maximum Marked Burst pressure and the Minimum Marked Burst Pressure. The Burst Pressure Tolerance is dictated by ASME VIII Division I. The tolerance is +/- 5% of the burst pressure when the the burst pressure is above 40 psig, and +/- 2 psi when the burst pressure is 40 psig or less. The MAWP must > the highest number of MDR.
SADT Self-Accelerating Decomposition Temperature. It is determined by BAM test. For transportation, NFPA 49 defines SADT as the minimum temperature at which the exponential growth occurs in a material in its largest standrd shipping container. SADT is the lowest ambient temperature above which the equilibrium between the heat transfer to the surrounding and heat-generation in the container is lost and the decompostion reaction proceeds to the point of no return. For transportation of such unstable liquid in container requires refrigeration of the container if the SADT is 55 degree C or less.
SDS The previously known as Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS), SDS is now OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard (HCS), having 16 sections of various properties of a chemical. Manufacturers are required to maintain an updated SDS of the chemical they manufacture.
Set Pressure It is the inlet static pressure expressed in gauge at which a pressure relief valve opens.
Stagnation Pressure It is the pressure of a fluid attained when the fluid is decelerated to zero velocity in a reversible and adiabatic process (isentropic process). Mathematically, it is expressed by the sum of static pressure and the velocity head (dynamic pressure).
Steady State In a three-dimensional space with x, y, z cordinates of three dimensions and time, t, as the fourth dimention, steady state is defined by two criteria:
(1) (partial derivative of temperature with respect to x with y, z, and t remaining constant) is not zero,
(2) (Partial derivative of temperature with respect to time with x, y, and z remaining constant) is zero.
Superimposed Backpressure It is the static pressure existing at the outlet of the pressure relief device at the time the relef device opens.
System An enclosed volume set aside for study.
TOC Total Organic Carbon.
TLV Threshold Limit Value. The greatest concentration of a substance in air that can be tolerated without any adverse health effect.
tMR Time to maximum rate. It is the time required to reach the maximum rate of reaction.
TNR Temperature of No Return
Tonset Temperature of onset decomposition
TUV Technischer Uberwachunggsverein (Technical Inspection Authority, Germany)
UFL Upper Flammability Limit. The highest concentration of a flammable fluid in air above which the air-fuel mixture will not burn.
UL Underwriters Laboratories
ULL-132 Safety Relief Valves for Anhydrous Ammonia and Liquified Petroleum Gases
UL-142 Above-ground Steel Tanks for Flammable and Combustible Liquids
USCG United States Coast Guards
VOC Volatile Organic Carbon