Chemical Engineering award

The award recognises Professor Mahegerefteh's work on the development of a computational fluid dynamics model for rupture of pressurised pipelines. The model has been adopted by the Health and Safety Executive for safety assessment of UK pressurised pipelines, as well as by some of the major operators in the oil and gas industries.

The most recent application of Professor Mahgerefteh's work was with respect to a planning application for a proposed £150 million development in Bo'ness, a small town on the Firth of Forth near Edinburgh.

The scheme, which is receiving strong backing from local government, industry and development authorities, has been the subject of considerable controversy due to the safety implications associated with the presence of a major pipeline carrying oil from the North Sea to the BP terminal at Grangemouth via Bo'ness.

In the past, safety authorities required a zone around the pipeline that prevented any redevelopment of the Bo'ness harbour or its historic town centre.

Professor Mahgerefteh's pipeline rupture model was used to provide a more accurate determination of the minimum safe distance between the pipeline and the proposed development.

Image: Professor Mahgerefteh

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