COMPARISON OF THERMALLY COATED AND UNINSULATED RAIL TANK CARS FILLED WITH LPG SUBJECTED TO A FIRE ENVIRONMENT

Two fire tests were conducted on 128 kiloliter, high pressure rail tank cars filled with liquefied petroleum gas. Both tank cars were exposed to an intense hydrocarbon fire after being outfitted with appropriate instrumentation. The instrumentation was monitored and its output recorded throughout the fire tests. To test the feasibility of insulating railroad tank cars to protect them from fire exposure, one of the cars was coated with a 0.318 cm thermal shield. A comparison of data conclusively shows that a thermal shield significantly alters the thermal response of a rail tank car in a fire environment.

• 
• Record URL:
  • https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/40232
• Corporate Authors:

  Ballistic Research Laboratory

  Aberdeen Proving Ground
  Aberdeen, MD  United States 

  Federal Railroad Administration

  Office of Research and Development, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Townsend, W
  • Anderson, C
  • Zook, J
  • Cowgill, G
• Publication Date: 1974-12

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Pagination: 53 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Electric insulating materials; Explosions; Fire resistant coatings; Fires; Flammability tests; Hazardous materials; Heat insulating materials; Insulating materials; Liquefied petroleum gas; Railroad cars; Tank cars
• Old TRIS Terms: Tank car safety research and test project
• Subject Areas: Railroads; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00091406
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: Final Rpt.
• Files: NTIS, NTL, TRIS, USDOT
• Created Date: Jul 15 1976 12:00AM