(153c) Thermal Radiation Analysis from Large Pool Fires in an Existing Atmospheric Storage TANK Farm to Estimate the Maximum FIRE Water Demand

Thermal radiation from large pool fires of liquid hydrocarbons within an atmospheric storage tank can potentially threat the structural and mechanical integrity of adjacent storage tanks creating conditions to develop domino effect or new points of pool fire on neighbouring storage tanks.

A thermal radiation analysis from large pool fires was performed in an existing tank farm with more than 55 atmospheric storage tanks in order to estimate the potential radiative heat flux that each adjacent tank can absorb from a tank on fire. The potential radiative heat flux that the flames of a storage tank on fire can emit to the adjacent tanks was used to calculate the demand of fire-water required by all these tanks. Each set of adjacent tanks absorbing radiative heat flux from flames of the storage tank on fire, was reviewed to determine which set demands the maximum fire-water volume in the tank farm.

Two important results were obtained from this thermal radiation analysis in an existing tank farm. First, the biggest storage tank in a tank farm does not necessarily demands the major volume of fire-water. The case of the tank on fire interacting with more adjacent tanks could require the major volume of firewater. Second, in some cases the fire-water application rates for spray systems on storage tanks recommended by standards such as NFPA and API are inadequate to cool effectively the adjacent tanks to a storage tank on fire. In these cases, the fire-water application rates should be increased to avoid the temperature of the hydrocarbon liquid in one of these adjacent storage tanks to increase significantly minimizing conditions to develop a potential domino effect of new pool fires in the tank farm.