Full scale fire tests with unprotected and thermal insulated LPG storage tanks

Experimental and analytical investigation of thermal coating effectiveness for 3m3 LPG tanks engulfed by fire

“…Possibly, in the second part of the test, liquid level decrease due to venting caused these thermocouples to be in contact with gas when the PRV is closed, while during vent opening violent boiling and liquid expansion caused the wall temperatures to decrease to values very close to those of the liquid. Similar behaviours of wall temperatures at liquid interfaces were experienced in previous studies [3].…”

“…Due to limited venting from the PRV, a lower liquid level was thus chosen (50% filling level) for a second test (test B), resulting in a larger portion of the vessel walls in contact with the vapour, experiencing more severe heat loading conditions [3]. Grade A (EN27941) type LPG (approximately 70% propane and 30% butane) was used to fill the vessel.…”

“…The main cause of these results was in the potential consequences of accidental scenarios due to fired boiling liquid expanding vapour explosions (BLEVEs) of LPG road tankers during loading/unloading operations. Data on several fire tests carried out at different scales [2][3][4] pointed out that engulfed LPG tanks with no fire protection may withstand pool fire engulfment conditions for time lapses typically comprised between 10 and 25 min, depending on fire and tank characteristics, before collapsing and causing a hot BLEVE. This result was confirmed also by model data reported for the time to BLEVE in the case of full engulfment calculated for LPG tanks [5][6][7].…”

Risk reduction in road and rail LPG transportation by passive fire protection

“…Technical standards and data of bonfire tests are available in the technical literature concerning the use and the optimal specifications for both coating and PRVs in fixed tanks [34][35][36][37][38][39]. However, less attention was dedicated to the analysis of the performances of such devices in the specific accidental scenarios that may take place during the road and rail transportation of LPG.…”

“…It is well known that in road and rail accidents severe fire engulfment or impingement may take place, while external cooling due to rescue teams or fire brigades may be widely delayed with respect to fixed installations [40]. Moreover, experimental tests addressing these specific scenarios were mostly carried out at a laboratory [32] or pilot scale [29,34,35,[41][42][43][44][45]. Thus, in the present study, experimental data reported in the literature were combined to the results obtained from a full scale detailed model, based on finite elements simulations, to assess the effectiveness of passive protection in "fired" BLEVE prevention for severe accidental scenarios specific of the road transportation of LPG.…”