Mobile LPG cylinders at WUI fires: an alternative to avoid accidents

Abstract

Accidents related to mobile cylinders filled with Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) stored in houses at the Wildland Urban-Interface (WUI) occurred several times in Portugal in 2016 and 2017, closely linked to three large wildfires. Due to the amount of energy stored, the cylinders jeopardise the vicinity and become a potential risk for people and structures when a WUI fire occurs. This paper presents an experimental evaluation under fire conditions of two different protective devices to be used to protect cylinders filled with LPG at WUI areas; and to avoid extreme events like BLEVE. The first protective device is made with a thin fabric and the second one with a ceramic plate. These protective devices were tested at different distances from the flames and under similar conditions. The heat fluxes that reach the protection´s and cylinder´s surfaces were measured, the same was done with temperature. The percentage of thermal flux blockage for both devices was compared. The temperature of the cylinder was compared with the room temperature.