1–10 ■ PREVENTION THROUGH DESIGN*

The emphasis of safety is not foreign in the fields of engineering. It is without

any surprise that the first of the fundamental canons of ethics for engineers
is to “hold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the public” when
fulfilling their professional duties (NSPE Publication 1102, 2007). In 2007,
the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) launched
the National Prevention through Design (PtD) initiative, with the mission to
prevent or reduce work-related injuries, illnesses, and fatalities by including
prevention considerations in all circumstances that impact individuals in the
work places (NIOSH Publication 2011–121, 2010). As such, the concept of
PtD involves applying the means of reducing risks and preventing hazards
in the design of equipment, tools, processes, and work facilities. The idea of
having a section on PtD throughout the different chapters in the text is not
only to simply provide discussions of interesting real world applications, but
also to introduce the concepts of PtD to the minds of tomorrow’s engineers
whereby they may influence a change in culture toward more emphasis on
safety designs.
The National PtD Initiative is largely being discussed in the context of
preventing work-related hazards to individuals in working environments.
Nevertheless, the concepts of PtD can also be rationally applied to preventing
failures and damages of devices, products, and systems. Since such failures
and damages are often led to negative impacts on the environment,
profitability,
and ultimately the society at large. Within the context of heat and
mass transfer, the PtD concepts can be presented along with the physical
mechanisms involved and practical applications. Issues such as prevention of
thermal burn, fire hazard, and thermal failure in systems are topics that can
relate the concepts of PtD with the basic science of heat and mass transfer.
The process of solving heat and mass transfer problems, along with the
*The section is contributed by Professor Clement C. Tang, Mechanical
Engineering
Department, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND.
36
INTRODUCTION AND BASIC CONCEPTS
application of PtD concepts, involves incorporating prescribed PtD criteria,
be it the prevention of burn injury, fire hazard, or system failure, to the
solutions
(Fig. 1–48). To successfully arrive at a solution that satisfies prescribed
PtD criteria requires the understanding of how the physical mechanisms of
heat and mass transfer interrelate with the concepts of PtD.
Thermal burn occurs when skin tissues are exposed to temperatures that are
higher than its physiological temperature. Under such occurrence, the protein
and cellular structures of skin tissues are altered, as the higher temperatures
cause thermal shocks and disrupt the skin cells. The degree of injury as a
result of thermal burn is influenced by the temperature to which the skin is
exposed and the duration of exposure. The skin reaction to thermal burn is
dependent upon the heat transfer rate from the hot medium to the skin. When
exposed to temperatures above approximately 43°C, the human skin can
begin to feel discomfort and pain; and damage can occur if the exposure is
sufficiently long. Exposure to temperature about 48°C can cause human skin
to receive a first degree burn injury; and temperature above 70°C can cause
instantaneous damage to human skin (ASTM Standard C1055-03, 2009).
Injury from thermal burn can result from all three modes of heat transfer:
conduction, convection, and radiation. Thermal burn by conduction heat
transfer occurs when the skin is in contact with a hot solid surface. The thermal
properties, roughness, and temperature of the hot solid surface, along
with the contact duration and the nature of the skin, all influence the degree
of this thermal burn injury. Scalding of skin from hot fluid is a thermal burn
caused by convection heat transfer to the skin. Scalding on skin tissue can
occur through spilling of hot liquid or accidental immersion into hot liquid.
Thermal burn injuries from convection heat transfer of hot gas are not only
external but also can be internal, affecting the upper respiratory tract and
even the lungs. Thermal burn by radiation can be caused from laser or other
sources such as nuclear explosion. Although human skin can reflect much of
the incident energy from radiation, exposure to high energy laser beams can
cause thermal burn on skin. The severity of thermal burn from laser is
influenced
by the range of wavelength that allows the laser beam to penetrate into
the skin tissue and the duration of exposure.
In the prevention of fire hazard, the understanding of flash point is important.
Flash point is the lowest temperature at which a liquid can vaporize and
form a mixture with air to become ignitable. When a liquid reaches its flash
point, a source of ignition (e.g., open flame, spark, static electricity, and hot
object) will cause the liquid to ignite. Therefore designs for fire hazard
prevention
must be in place when storing, handling, or transporting a liquid above
its flash point, such that it is not exposed to an ignition source. The lower the
flash point of a liquid, the more susceptible it is to a fire hazard. Flash point
is also used for characterizing fire hazard of liquids into categories such as
combustible and flammable liquids. The National Fire Protection Association
(NFPA) has classified a liquid with a flash point of 37.8°C (100°F) or higher
as a combustible liquid. A liquid with a flash point below 37.8°C is classified
as flammable liquid. Another concept important to fire hazard prevention
is the autoignition temperature (AIT), which is the minimum temperature at
which a substance will spontaneously ignite without ignition source. A
substance
is auto ignited when it is heated above a temperature at which the rate
of heat release from the exothermic oxidation reaction become significantly
FIGURE 1–48
Process of solving problems with
application of PtD concepts
Identify
important
variables Make
reasonable
assumptions &
approximations
Identify relevant
physical properties
Apply
prescribed
PtD criteria
Apply
applicable
solution
technique
Physical problem
with PtD criteria
Heat & mass transfer
governing equations
Solution that satisfies
PtD criteria
37
CHAPTER 1
greater than the rate of heat lost to the surroundings. Factors influencing the
autoignition temperature include atmospheric pressure, humidity, and oxygen
concentration.
The science of heat and mass transfer can be coupled with the concepts
of PtD to mitigate the risks of thermal failure in systems. Thermal stress
can compromise the integrity of parts and components in a system. Extreme
temperature can alter the physical properties of a material, which can cause
a component to lose its functionality. Cold temperature on the morning of
January 28, 1986 affected the elasticity of the O-ring on a solid rocket booster
of the space shuttle Challenger. The loss of the O-ring’s elasticity and ability
to seal allowed hot combustion gas to leak through a solid rocket booster,
which led to the tragic disaster.