Selection and planning of hazardous materials transportation routes based on explosion accident risks

The explosiveness of hazardous materials determines that once an accident occurs during transportation, severe damage will be imposed on surrounding targets. However, the increasing complexity of the road network significantly augments the risk of damage occurrence. To maintain low accident risks in transporting hazardous materials, this study proposes a method for selection and planning of transportation routes based on explosion accident risks. Firstly, the road network topology is associated with vehicle status to establish a relationship between the accident probability and speed gradient. Meanwhile, an independent grid-based approach is used to perform multi-level damage quantification on various objects. Secondly, route risks are quantitatively characterized, and a comparison system for multiple risk metrics is established. Based on search algorithms, route planning and risk ranking are achieved. Finally, the method is validated. It has been confirmed that this method can quickly and accurately obtain route ranking and risk distribution. The results offer practical guidance for relevant organizations to improve risk management and strategy development, and provide reference for future research.