Experimental investigation of consequences of LPG vehicle tank failure under fire conditions

In case of a vehicle fire, an installed liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tank with a malfunctioning safety device poses severe hazards. To investigate the consequences in case of tank failure, the authors conducted 16 tests with toroidal shaped LPG vehicle tanks. Three tanks were used for a Hydraulic Burst Test under standard conditions. Another three tanks were equipped with a statutory safety device and were subjected to a gasoline pool fire. The safety device prevented tank failure, as intended. To generate a statistically valid dataset on tank failure, ten tanks without safety devices were exposed to a gasoline pool fire. Five tanks were filled to a level of 20%; the remaining five were filled to a level of 100%. In order to gain information on the heating process, three temperature readings at the tank surface, and three nearby flame temperatures were recorded. At distances of l = (7; 9; 11) m to the tank, the overpressure of the shock wave induced by the tank failure and the unsteady temperatures were measured. All ten tanks failed within a time of t<5 min in a boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion (BLEVE). Seven of these resulted directly in a catastrophic failure. The other three resulted in partial failure followed by catastrophic failure. A near field overpressure at a distance of l=7 m of up to p=0.27 bar was measured. All ten tests showed massive fragmentation of the tank mantle. In total, 50 fragments were found. These 50 fragments make-up 88.6% of the original tank mass. Each fragment was georeferenced and weighed. Fragment throwing distances of l>250 m occurred. For the tanks with a fill level of 20%, the average number of fragments was twice as high as it was for the tanks that were filled completely.

• Record URL:
  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jlp.2018.09.006
• Record URL:
  http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S095042301830456X
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/09504230
• Supplemental Notes:
  • © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Abstract reprinted with permission of Elsevier.
• Authors:
  • Tschirschwitz, Rico
  • Krentel, Daniel
  • Kluge, Martin
  • Askar, Enis
  • Habib, Karim
  • Kohlhoff, Harald
  • Krüger, Simone
  • Neumann, Patrick P
  • Storm, Sven-Uwe
  • Rudolph, Michael
  • Schoppa, André
  • Szczepaniak, Mariusz
• Publication Date: 2018-11

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Web
• Features: Figures; Photos; References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 278-288
• Serial:
  • Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries
  • Volume: 56
  • Publisher: Elsevier
  • ISSN: 0950-4230
  • Serial URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/journal-of-loss-prevention-in-the-process-industries

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Equipment tests; Explosions; Fluid dynamics; Fuel tanks; Liquefied petroleum gas; Mechanical failure; Temperature; Vehicle fires
• Subject Areas: Energy; Highways; Security and Emergencies; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01722271
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Nov 14 2019 9:30AM