Filtern
Dokumenttyp
Sprache
- Englisch (3)
Schlagworte
- BLEVE (3) (entfernen)
Organisationseinheit der BAM
An overview of test standards and regulations relevant to the fire testing of pressure vessels
(2021)
Fire exposure of storage and transportation vessels of hazardous materials (including pressure liquefied gases) can result in BLEVEs and other high-consequence incidents with large societal and economic impacts. To reduce risk most countries have numerous regulations, codes of practice and guidance notes covering the design, operation and maintenance of vessels and thermal protection systems. Yet despite such regulations there remains no internationally accepted fire test procedure for pressure vessel and accompanying thermal protection systems that is capable of meeting a range of regulatory requirements. This paper considers some of the regulations in place in the western world and considers the origin of these based on large and medium-scale testing conducted to date. It examines conditions found in these tests to propose a set of recommendations on which to base a standard method of test. These recommendations are proposed as being representative of a credible large pool fire scenario that may occur.
How can the risk of a BLEVE be reduced? That is the main question based on different research projects. In various large scale fire tests fire protection coating systems were used of different manufacturers. The degree of the coating as well as the layer thickness and the processing were varied. These experimental configurations were partly tested with and without pressure relief valve. The pressure relief valves were not protected again the thermal Load from the test fire. The ambition is to find a minimum of the thickness from the fire protection coating witch delay a BLEVE up to 90 minutes. Here are given the most interested configurations of tanks in fire and a description of the test-rigs.
Exposure of pressure vessels to fire can result in catastrophic explosion and escalation of accidents. The safe transportation of cargo in pressure vessels therefore requires knowledge of what will happen to the cargo in the event of a vehicle derailment or rollover resulting in fire exposure. The chapter presents an overview of selected testing and modelling work undertaken to understand the thermohydraulic processes within a vessel that drive pressurization during fire. A series of experiments highlighting the importance of adequate design and selection of protection systems are summarized. It is concluded that pressure relief alone is typically insufficient to prevent vessel rupture, but the combination of relief and thermal coatings can be effective.