On October 27, 2017, the National Key R&D Program “Key Dangerous Chemical Explosion Mechanism and Key Technologies for Accident Prevention and Control" project was held at Beijing Institute of Technology. Project Recommendation Unit, i.e. Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Industry Competent Authority National Safety Supervision and Administration Bureau, Project Management Unit China 21st Century Agenda Management Center and Project Assumption Unit Beijing Institute of Technology Leaders, Research Institutes, School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Project Expert Advisory Group and a total of more than 100 participants attended in this launching meeting. This national key R&D program was led by Beijing Institute of Technology, together with Dalian University of Technology, Tianjin Fire Research Institute of the Ministry of Public Security, China Institute of Safety Production, China Petroleum and in total 28 companies such as Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.

Yazheng Yang, assistant to the president of Beijing Institute of Technology, delivered a speech and welcomed the experts attending the meeting. Mr. Jiangyao Chen, Chief of Science and Technology Department, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Binchuan Zhang, Deputy Director of Planning and Technology Department, State Administration of Work Safety, Director Wei Lin, Director of Supervision and Management Division III Song Honglin, Project Manager of China 21st Century Agenda Management Center Xin Ma, China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation Mr. Shanjun Yan, deputy dean of the Institute of Safety Engineering of the Company Limited and general expert of the project, came to the meeting for guidance and put forward specific requirements for project organization and management. The project set up an advisory group to appoint Dr. Xuguang Wang, academician of the Beijing Research Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, as the head of the project advisory expert group. Project consultants include Professor Jinsong Zhao, Director of the Department of Chemical Engineering at Tsinghua University, and Professor Qunbo Lu, the Institute of Optoelectronics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, etc., and well-known experts in the fields of chemical engineering and optoelectronics. Yazheng Yang issued a letter of appointment for project consultants.

The project leader Professor Xinming Qian from the Institute of Mechatronical Engineering of Beijing Institute of Technology reported the overall situation of the project. Responsible participants of each sub-project gave detailed reports on the objectives, research contents, and schedules. After the project introduction, members of the expert advisory group made valuable suggestions on the direction of project research. On this basis, the key members of the project team conducted in-depth exchanges and discussions, further defined the task division of tasks, time nodes, data interaction, and cooperation methods for each topic, and provided prevention and possible risks and challenges in the future implementation process. The project has established a management office, which consists of various task offices and has established a regular reporting and feedback system to provide effective workflow for the smooth implementation of the project.

In recent years, serious accidents have occurred in China, such as the “11.22” explosion in Qingdao Huangdao in 2013, the “8.2” explosion in Jiangsu Zhongrong in 2014, and the “8.12” fire and explosion accident in Tianjin Port in 2015. These accidents not only resulted in major casualties and property losses but have also affected the national economy and social development. The National Key R&D Program “Study and Demonstration of Key Dangerous Chemical Explosion Mechanisms and Key Technologies for Prevention and Control of Accidents” focuses on the complex mechanism of typical hazardous chemical explosive accidents, difficulties in detection, and inadequate prevention and control measures. The starting point is to study its explosion mechanism and evolution law, develop explosive pre-awareness, explosion suppression, and explosion-proof technologies and equipment, build an emergency rescue platform for explosion accidents, and conduct application demonstrations to improve our ability to prevent and respond to explosive disasters. The research results of this project will enrich and improve the theoretical system of hazardous chemicals explosion, provide important theoretical basis and key technical support for the prevention and control of industrial explosion accidents in China, and can produce significant economic and social benefits.