On the thermal rupture of 1.9 m propane pressure vessels with defects in their thermal protection system

This paper describes the results from a series of fire tests that were carried out to measure the effect of defects in thermal protection systems on fire engulfed propane pressure vessels.

In North America thermal protection is used to protect dangerous goods rail tank-cars from accidental fire impingement. They are designed so that a tank-car will not rupture for 100 min in a defined engulfing fire, or 30 min in a defined torching fire. One common system includes a 13 mm blanket of high-temperature ceramic fibre thermal insulation covered with a 3 mm steel jacket. Recent inspections have shown that some tanks have significant defects in these thermal protection systems. This work was done to establish what levels of defect are acceptable from a safety standpoint.

The tests were conducted using 1890 l (500 US gallon) ASME code propane pressure vessels (commonly called tanks in the propane industry). The defects tested covered 8% and 15% of the tank surface. The tanks were 25% engulfed in a fire that simulated a hydrocarbon pool fire with an effective blackbody temperature of 870 °C.

The fire testing showed that even relatively small defects can result in tank rupture if the defect area is engulfed in a severe fire, and the defect area is not wetted by liquid from the inside. A wall failure prediction technique based on uniaxial high-temperature stress rupture test data has been developed and agrees well with the observed failure times.     

Fire tests on defective tank-car thermal protection systems

Many railway tank-cars carrying hazardous materials are thermally protected from fire impingement by thermal insulation and a steel jacket applied to the outside of the tank-car shell. Over time, it is possible that the thermal insulation will sag, rip, degrade, or be crushed under the steel jacket. A thermographic technique to determine whether or not a tank has insulation deficiencies has been developed, but it is necessary to determine which thermal deficiencies do not affect a tank’s survivability in a fire and which thermal deficiencies must be repaired. In order to develop a guideline in assessing thermal defects, a thermal model and experimental data would be beneficial.A series of fire tests were performed on a quarter-section tank-car mock-up to assist in developing a guideline and to provide validation data for a thermal model. Twelve fire tests, with constant, credible, simulated pool fire conditions, were performed on the tank-car mock-up with various insulation deficiencies. An infrared thermal imaging camera was used to measure the tank wall temperature. The thermal images were useful in determining the temperature profiles across the defects at different times and the transient temperature behaviour at different locations.It was seen that the properly installed thermal protection system significantly reduced the heat transfer from the fire to the tank wall. It was also seen that the steel jacket alone (i.e. 100% defect) acted as a radiation shield and provided a significant level of protection. With small defects, it was observed that the surrounding protected material provided a cooling effect by thermal conduction. A square defect greater than about 40 cm on each side should be considered significant, because unlike smaller defects, there is little benefit from the surrounding material as far as the peak defect temperature is concerned.     

基于热-结构耦合分析的液化石油气储罐失效预警判定*

为研究火灾中球罐应力场分布情况,找到球罐失效破裂条件,以液化石油气为研究对象,基于球罐稳态热响应,通过ANSYS热-结构耦合有限元分析法进行研究。结果表明:充装率85%的液化石油气球罐最高温度部位出现在气相区,约619.66 ℃;最大应力值出现在气液交界处,约615.18 MPa;得到球罐破裂失效时温度值和应力值,并设置2次预警值。研究结果可为液化石油气储罐失效预警提供参考和判定依据。     

On the response of 500 gal propane tanks to a 25% engulfing fire

This paper presents detailed data on the thermal response of two 500 gal ASME code propane tanks that were 25% engulfed in a hydrocarbon fire. These tests were done as part of an overall test programme to study thermal protection systems for propane-filled railway tank-cars.

The fire was generated using an array of 25 liquid propane-fuelled burners. This provided a luminous fire that engulfed 25% of the tank surface on one side. The intent of these tests was to model a severe partially engulfing fire situation.

The paper presents data on the tank wall and lading temperatures and tank internal pressure. In the first test the wind reduced the fire heating and resulted in a late failure of the tank at 46 min. This tank failed catastrophically with a powerful boiling liquid expanding vapour explosion (BLEVE). In the other test, the fire heating was very severe and steady and this tank failed very quickly in 8 min as a finite rupture with massive two-phase jet release. The reasons for these different outcomes are discussed. The different failures provide a range of realistic outcomes for the subject tank and fire condition.     

高压开关柜阻燃绝缘件在役老化诱发着火事故的综合分析

高压开关柜长期连续运行在高温高湿环境下,内部的阻燃绝缘件会老化而导致性能劣化,进而引起电弧击穿乃至着火事故。为揭示绝缘件样品老化对其击穿与引燃特性的影响机制,针对已在役运行12年开关柜内老化阻燃固封极柱样品和同配方新样品,开展了微观形貌、热重-差示扫描量热、热重-红外光谱和微量燃烧特性综合分析。结果表明:开关柜内的长期电热应力易使环氧树脂绝缘材料的微观结构产生破坏,内部易产生孔洞和裂纹,导致其绝缘性能下降;开关柜内的高温环境易使绝缘材料内部分子链缓慢断裂,导致老化样品更易受热分解;同时,柜内高温高湿环境既可使其材料内部孔隙吸湿而降低绝缘性能,还易导致磷系阻燃剂吸潮氧化,降低其阻燃性能;最后,与新样品相比,12年老化样品在升温初期的燃烧释热更高,一旦形成击穿电弧,更易着火燃烧。研究结果为高压开关柜因绝缘件老化失效而形成击穿起火事故提供了分析要点,并可作为未来更高性能阻燃绝缘件的优化设计依据。     

基于金相分析技术的煤矿火灾事故调查试验研究

通过对矿井火灾现场特性的分析,根据金属材料的特点,提出利用金相鉴定技术进行矿井火灾事故调查的新方法,试验测定得出高温作用下40号钢和铸铁的金相组织和硬度的动态变化规律。试验结果表明,不同加热温度条件下,40号钢冷却后具有不同的金相组织,其硬度随受热温度的升高迅速下降;在相同加热温度不同受热时间条件下,40号钢的金相组织与硬度变化不明显。铸铁的硬度随加热时间的增加呈下降趋势,其金相组织也有较明显的区别。根据矿井火灾后降温较为缓慢的特点,提出灰口铸铁与白口铸铁相互转变的方向性。因此,矿井火灾事故调查可以对受到火灾破坏的金属构件的金相组织的观察和硬度测定,来"反推"出该部位在火灾时曾受过的最高温度以及持续时间,从而可推断火灾的蔓延情况,为认定起火原因和起火位置提供技术支持。     

An experimental study of an LPG tank at low filling level heated by a remote wall fire

This paper describes an experimental study of 2300 L pressure vessels exposed to remote fire heating by a natural gas fuelled wall fire simulator. The tanks were filled to 15% capacity with commercial liquid propane. The flame intensity and distance were varied to study the effect of different heating levels on the tank and its lading.The fire simulator is first characterized with tests including fire thermocouples, radiative flux meters and thermal imaging. With the appropriate positioning of a target tank it is possible to get very realistic fire heat fluxes at the tank surface.Three tests were conducted with the 2300 L tanks filled to 15% capacity with propane. The tanks were positioned at three different distances from the wall fire resulting in measured average peak heat flux at the tank surfaces ranging between 24 and 43 kW m^?2. The data shows rapid rise in vapour space wall temperatures, significant temperature stratification in the vapour space, and moderate rate of pressure rise. These results provide excellent data for the validation of computer models used to predict the response of pressure vessels exposed to moderate heating from a remote fire.     

Scale considerations for fire testing of pressure vessels used for dangerous goods transportation

Fire protection of pressure vessels for transport and storage of dangerous goods is an active topic of research around the world. In many cases, organizations are conducting theoretical analysis followed by fire testing of thermal protection systems to determine how long they delay thermally induced failure, or if they eliminate failure. In most recent cases the organizations chose to do small scale fire testing because of the obvious cost savings.The question then is – are small scale experiments representative of highway tank truck and rail tank car scales? This paper discusses the scale issues involved. It goes on to show how identical fire heating conditions can give dramatically different failure times and modes of failure for small and large scale tanks if the conditions are not truly similar.     

Improved models of failure time for atmospheric tanks under the coupling effect of multiple pool fires

Fire accidents of chemical installations may cause domino effects in atmospheric tank farms, where a large amount of hazardous substances are stored or processed. Pool fire is a major form of fire accidents, and the thermal radiation from pool fire is the primary hazard of domino accidents. The coupling of multiple pool fires is a realistic and important accident phenomenon that enhances the propagation of domino accidents. However, previous research has mostly focused on the escalation of domino accidents induced by a single pool fire. To overcome the drawback, in this study, the failure of a storage tank under the coupling effect of multiple pool fires was studied in view of spatial and temporal synergistic process. The historical accident statistics indicated that the accident scenario of two-pool fires accounted for 30.6% in pool fires. The domino accident scenario involving three tanks is analyzed, and the typical layout of tanks is isosceles right triangle based on Chinese standard “GB50341-2014”. The thermal response and damage of a target tank heated by pool fires were numerically investigated. The volume of 500 m³, 3000 m³, 5000 m³ and 10000 m³ were selected. Flame temperature was obtained by FDS, and then was input onto the finite element model. The temperature field and stress field of target tanks were simulated by ABAQUS. The results showed that the temperature rise rate of the target tanks under multiple pool fires was higher than that under a single pool fire. The failure time of the tank under the coupling effect of multiple fires was lower than that under the superposition of multiple fires without the first stage. The stress and yield strength were compared to judge the failure of the target tank. The model of failure time for the tank under the coupling effect of pool fires was established. Through the verification, the deviation of this model is 4.02%, which is better than the deviation of 15.76% with Cozzani's model.     

基于混凝土循环剥落的隧道火灾损伤数值模型研究

为研究混凝土高温剥落对隧道衬砌火灾损伤的影响，在现有隧道结构非线性瞬态热—力耦合有限元模型基础上，提出1种在火灾高温条件下混凝土发生剥落的循环算法，以模拟火灾下衬砌结构截面面积的损失，并引入混凝土临界剥落温度的概念，得出基于混凝土循环剥落的隧道衬砌火灾损伤数值模型建立流程。利用该模型对某隧道衬砌结构进行火灾损伤模拟，并与试验结果进行对比验证。结果表明:火灾下隧道混凝土衬砌结构内逐渐增大的热应力是导致普通混凝土高温剥落的主要原因；可将衬砌受火面是否达到临界剥落温度作为隧道发生高温剥落的充分条件进行火灾损伤分析；模型求解所得的数值模拟结果与现场火灾试验数据基本吻合，验证了其可行性；混凝土高温剥落与否对衬砌结构等效温度应力有较大影响，在隧道衬砌结构抗火性能分析过程中应尽量考虑混凝土高温剥落造成的影响。     

预应力RC梁抗火性能试验研究与有限元分析

为了考察预应力钢绞线张拉控制应力和梁的持荷水平两个因素对无粘结预应力混凝土梁抗火性能的影响,基于 ISO834标准升温曲线,对4根无粘结预应力混凝土梁进行恒载升温试验,同时应用ANSYS有限元软件建立无粘结预应力混 凝土梁有限元模型,进行恒载升温过程的有限元数值模拟。结果表明:有限元计算结果与试验结果符合较好;预应力钢 绞线张拉控制应力越大,预应力损失速度越快,梁变形速率越快,耐火性能越差;梁上作用荷载水平越高,跨中挠度越 大,变形速率越快,耐火极限越小。     

火灾下钢筋混凝土梁热力学性能数值模拟分析*

为了研究火灾下钢筋混凝土（RC）简支梁的热力学性能,建立火灾高温下RC梁的数值分析模型,与火灾试验对比验证模型的有效性;分别对4根完全相同的RC梁进行不同受火试验,研究受火时间、混凝土高温爆裂及钢筋-混凝土黏结高温退化对RC梁截面温度场分布、钢筋应力与滑移量分布、残余抗弯承载力的影响规律。研究结果表明:截面温度梯度随受火时间增长而扩大,底部角筋比其他纵筋升温均快;混凝土爆裂对直接受火面10 mm厚度范围内温度影响较为显著,角筋升温速率随受火时间增长而增大;底部纵筋应力随受火时间增长而下降,中筋的应力高于角筋;钢混界面滑移量随受火时间增长而增大,底部中筋的滑移量小于角筋;残余抗弯承载力随受火时间增长而线性减小;爆裂深度对残余抗弯承载力的影响程度要高于爆裂面积,跨中1/5跨长位置爆裂对残余抗弯承载力影响最大。     

轴向约束钢柱温度应力影响因素研究

建筑结构多为超静定结构.火灾条件下,组成结构的各构件在受到不均匀温度作用时,构件内将会产生温度应力.温度应力增加了构件的作用荷载,并影响受火钢柱的稳定性,是导致约束钢柱屈服破坏的主要原因.根据文献分析,轴向约束钢柱的温度应力影响因素主要有轴向约束刚度、长细比、初应力水平和构件升温.采用试验方法研究各因素对约束钢柱温度应力的影响规律.在温度应力增长阶段,构件所产生的温度应力与构件的温度升高值之间为线性关系,温度越高,温度应力越大.温度应力随轴向约束刚度和长细比的增大而增大;初应力水平越高,温度应力值越小.初应力水平的大小不影响温度应力的增长,但决定构件何时进入塑性状态.     

Coupling effects of the explosion shock wave and heat radiation on the dynamic response of a fixed-roof tank

The occurrence of leakage in large tank farms or oil deposits can lead to fire or explosion accidents. Coupling effects of fire and explosion loadings can cause considerably more damage to adjacent tanks or buildings than either loading individually does. In this study, the combined loadings of the explosion shock wave and heat radiation from a pool fire on a neighboring empty fixed-roof tank were numerically investigated. The effects of the explosion shock wave intensity and relative height of the explosion center [the ratio of the height of the explosion center to the height of the tank (h_r)] were analyzed. The results indicate that tanks damaged by explosion shock waves have decreased fire resistance and critical buckling temperature. Moreover, the thermal buckling deformation of the predamaged tank largely depends on the explosion shock wave. With an increase in the explosion shock wave intensity or a decrease in h_r, the explosion shock wave has greater influence on the fire resistance of the tank, and the critical buckling temperature decreases. This paper can provide an understanding of the dynamics of a tank under explosion shock wave loading, and of the critical failure criterion and failure modes of a target tank under the coupled loading of the explosion shock wave and an adjacent pool fire.     

某储罐区火灾多米诺效应场景推演

化工园区中危险源众多,一旦发生事故很容易在整个园区内蔓延和发展。针对化工园区内储罐密集,容易引发连锁反应导致事故扩大的特点,利用FDS软件对储罐火灾场景进行数值模拟,根据储罐所受热辐射确定化工园区内储罐火灾最可能的事故发生序列,并引入基于设备失效前时间的机械设备故障概率模型对罐区内单个储罐的火灾风险进行研究,得到储罐区火灾多米诺效应的时空演变。以某储罐区火灾为例,对多米诺效应下的火灾场景进行推演,结果表明该方法可以准确地预测多米诺效应过程中储罐的火灾风险,为化工园区应急响应提供有效支持。     

火灾下钢框架结构热-力耦合模拟与性能分析

基于"自然火灾安全概念"(NFSC)的基本思想,提出了火灾下钢结构热-力耦合模拟方法。利用ANSYS的参数化设计语言,建立了ANSYS软件与OZone火灾分析软件的数据接口,实现了火灾分析软件与大型有限元软件的耦合运用。基于火灾模拟软件OZone的分析结果,利用APDL语言,对钢框架结构进行了真实火灾场景下的热-力耦合模拟。研究表明:钢框架结构在真实火灾场景下,受非均匀变热流影响,结构内部将产生热应力梯度和应力牵移现象;同时钢框架中钢梁固接时,火灾初期变形较小,当达到某个关键时间点后将开始大的变形破坏,其主要原因是钢框架内部产生塑性铰,即钢梁由固接变为铰接,释放了对钢梁的约束。     

硫铁化物氧化自燃的动力学分析

为研究含硫油品储油罐中硫铁化物的自燃倾向性，采用STA8000同步热分析仪对10，15，20℃/min等不同升温速率和15，20，25 mL/min等不同空气流量下的硫铁化物进行试验，并通过获得的TG-DSC曲线研究试样的自燃特性；在此基础上，根据Coat模型，利用不同反应机理函数对热重数据进行分析。结果表明:该试验条件下，硫铁化物的氧化进程符合三级反应动力学机制；得出了硫铁化物在不同升温速率和空气流量下的表观活化能；在560～746℃温度区间内，随着升温速率的增加，空气流量的加大，活化能数值明显减小，自燃倾向性增大。研究结果可为预防和控制因硫铁化物自燃引发的火灾、爆炸事故提供理论参考。     

大型原油储罐火灾多米诺效应概率计算模型及应用

随着油品储罐区规模的不断扩大,近年来多储罐火灾事故呈上升趋势。现有的储罐防火间距是在以往事故经验的基础上设定的,通过罐组内的火灾多米诺效应概率计算,可从风险的角度为罐组内储罐防火间距的设定提供理论依据。通过综合考虑火灾环境下受辐射储罐失效时间和着火储罐火灾得到控制时间,确定了罐组内火灾多米诺效应的判定原则,并在火灾得到控制时间模型和储罐失效时间模型的基础上建立了火灾多米诺效应概率计算模型。以2万立外浮顶原油储罐为例进行模拟计算,得出在现行标准给出的防火间距下,发生罐组火灾多米诺效应的概率为3.94×10-8/a-1,属于可接受风险,为罐组内储罐的合理布局提供了理论依据。     

火灾环境中油罐罐壁冷却优化部署研究

对油罐火灾中着火罐罐壁和邻近罐罐壁的温度分布进行了科学分析,并进行了罐壁冷却实验研究,研究不同油罐罐壁材质对冷却效果的的影响,以及有热源作用和无热源作用罐壁在不同流量冷却水作用下的温度变化规律。结果表明,不同罐壁材质对冷却效果的影响不大,在实际火灾中可忽略罐壁材质的影响;流量越大,冷却速度越快,但达到火灾冷却要求时,不同大小流量冷却水的冷却效果差异并是很大,合适的供水强度是油罐高效冷却的前提。对油罐火灾冷却力量的部署提出了优化原则,为防灭火工作提供了一定的科学依据。     

大型原油商业储备油库火灾危险性数值模拟分析

石油储备油库多向大型化、复杂化方向发展,发生事故时扑救非常困难。为了深入探讨巨型油罐火灾发展趋势与规律、事故危害后果,结合宁夏惠安堡原油商业储备油库这一工程实例,采用基于大涡模拟的FDS模型作为模拟计算平台,对巨型油罐火灾的燃烧过程进行数值模拟计算。通过分析计算,得到烟气分布、温度分布、热辐射强度分布等火灾过程参数的变化趋势,以及在有风和无风状态下着火罐对相邻油罐的影响,探讨现行建设工程消防技术标准就储罐防火间距、火灾时对邻近罐体冷却设计要求运用于巨型储油罐时的消防安全状况,为巨型储油罐消防安全科学合理设计提供理论依据。