ARKS HA - software for hazard assessment by applying hazard indicators

Purpose of the program

ARKS HA belongs to the TSS-ARKS series and represents the first commercial software on the market that accumulates major hazard indicators used for preliminary assessment of reactive hazards of individual substances and mixtures.

ARKS HA inherits the best features of its predecessor ReRank and has many new qualities - new interface, new projects data base, updated algorithms of indicators' determination, videotutorials to help in mastering software:

HA Tutorial 1 Determining RRN
HA Tutorial 2 Determining SADT/SAPT
HA Tutorial 3 Determining TAL

Handling data

ARSK-HA is based on the project/wizard concept. A project unites all the components necessary for determination of reactivity indicators – kinetics, conditions, parameters of simulation, and results. There are several data bases for saving projects in accordance with the indicator calculated. It allows accumulation and convenient comparative analysis of information about reactivity characteristics of samples tested.

ARKS HA provides direct access to the ARKS IK, ARKS FK and ARKS CK data bases to easily import kinetic models  created by the above mentioned software.  

ARKS HA can use any type of kinetics created by TSS-ARKS kinetics suit - model-free isoconversional kinetics, formal models based on conversions as state variables, and descriptive models based on concentrations. Kinetics can be imported from  the databases of the kinetic programs or, in the case of formal and descriptive models, created manually when working with ARKS HA.

Reactivity indicators subject to determination

Seven reactivity indicators can be determined by using the ARKS HA:

• the standard Reactivity Rating Number of chemical products based on instantaneous energy release rate (Instantaneous Power Density, IPD) at 250 C which meets the National Fire Protection Association NFPA (USA) requirements
• the advanced Reactivity Rating Number of chemical products based on calculation of maximum energy release rate (Maximum Power Density, MPD) in the course of exothermic reaction at a constant sample temperature. This provides a safer estimate compared to the standard NFPA method when a reaction is of autocatalytic type or contains several consecutive stages .
• Time to Conversion Limit, TCL, under isothermal conditions as a function of temperature, TCL(T), which reflects thermal stability (TS) of a compound and can be used for comparison of substances
• adiabatic Time to Maximum Rate, TMR, as a function of initial temperature TMR(Tin), which indicates the probability of an explosive accident
• energy content or Total Energy Release, TER(Tin), as a function of initial temperature which can be used to measure the potential severity of an accident.
• Thermal Aging Analysis, TAL, which allows determination of conversion of a  product attained during long-term storage taking into account seasonal variation of temperature at a local place
• Self-Accelerating Decomposition Temperature, SADT, and Self-Accelerating Polymerizing Temperature, SAPT, for packaging with liquid thermally labile products (SADT) or polymerizing substances (SAPT). Determination is implemented in full accord with the requirements of the UN Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods, Manual of Tests and Criteria (TDG), test H.1, and the UN Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS). In accordance with TDG SADT is determined with the aim to find safe conditions of transportation, in accordance with GHS SADT for 50 kg package is determined for classification of a product.

New unique module for Emergency Relief System design is available started from ARKS HA v. 2.0.0. It allows calculation of the size of a safety device (safety valve, rupture disc and so forth)  on the basis of the widely accepted simplified methods. Simple Vent Sizing automatically chooses one of  the two methods of flow calculation through a vent line depending on peculiarities of the task:

• the method introduced by the part of the standard ISO 4126-10 Safety devices for protection against excessive pressure — Part 10: Sizing of safety valves for gas/liquid two-phase flow that is related to reacting system;
• the J.C. Leung's method.

Reactor’s model

A chemical reaction is considered to proceed in a continuous stirred BATCH reactor which can operate under the following thermal modes:

• forced temperature mode - reactant temperature equals to the environment temperature; this mode is used for determination of Reactivity Rating Number, stability indicator TCL, and thermal aging analysis (TAL).
• adiabatic mode - no heat exchange with environment; this mode is used for calculation of TMR and TER.
• general mode - there is heat exchange between a package of a chemical and environment; this mode is used for determining SADT and SAPT.

Physical properties

When using isoconversional kinetics or formal models necessary properties are defined by the User.

When descriptive models are applied the built-in properties database is used. It can be replenished by the User. The additive rules are utilized for calculation of properties of multi-component mixtures.

Similar database is used for defining properties of the package material when SADT/SAPT is subject to determination.

Climatic and vessels databases

The climatic database is available in  ARKS HA. It contains data on seasonal temperature variation for different locations and is used for thermal aging analysis. The database can be replenished by the User.

Database of vessels   contains construction and dimensions of the vessels that are used for determination of SADT/SAPT. The database can be replenished by the User.

Installation

Requirements: CPU: Intel Pentium 1200 MHz and faster, Memory: 1024 MB, Disk space: 50 MB, CD-ROM: present, OS: MS Windows  7, 8, 10, 11. 

ATTENTION!

1. When installing ARKS HA under Windows 7 and higher we strongly recommend to use the default path     C:\Users\[username]\CISP\ARKS HA
2. When installing  TSS-ARKS applications one can meet the problem with Anti-virus tools you use. Some of them may suspect that TSS programs are infected. Please don't worry. This may happen  due to new powerful protection system (provided by  the Enigma Protector - one  of the world  leaders in this area) which sometimes causes alarm because anti-virus tools cannot look  inside the protected code. As a result the application will be blocked.  To avoid such problem ask your IT service to exclude Users\[username]\CISP folder from virus  check.
   CISP guarantees that TSS-ARKS is 100% clean, which means its applications do not contain any form of malware, including but not limited to: spyware, viruses, trojans and backdoor.

Be aware - even if you are the licensed user of ReRank you will have to get new registration key. Please email us the request and don't forget to indicate your company and your name.