Cause analysis and safety evaluation of aluminum powder explosion on the basis of catastrophe theory

Abstract A safety state catastrophe model of aluminum product plant was established in this study by analyzing the causes of aluminum powder explosions. This model, which was developed from the perspectives of humans and objects, was created to explore the cause of aluminum powder explosions and establish a safety evaluation model. Weight is influenced by subjective factors in the safety evaluation of plants. Thus, a safety evaluation method based on catastrophe theory was proposed to analyze aluminum powder explosion. Fuzzy analysis method was combined with the hierarchical decomposition of the evaluation object. Normalization formula was used to compute the overall value of catastrophe subordinate function to realize the evaluation and dynamic judgment of the safety level of plants. Management system, operator, facilities and equipment, and the environment are the main factors that affect the safety level of aluminum product plants. The total value of safety catastrophe subordinate function of an aluminum product factory is determined by the minimum value of catastrophe subordinate function values at criterion layers. The four factors must be comprehensively considered. The evaluation method involves simple calculation, requires no index weighing, and realizes the dynamic and safe evaluation of aluminum product factories using multiple assessment indices.