Experiment study of oil tank fire characteristics dependent on the opening of tank top

Abstract

In order to study the influence of top opening on oil tank fire characters, small scale oil tank fire experiments with 1, 1/2, 1/4,1/8 opening proportion factors (opening area/tank top area) and different opening eccentricities (opening centroid position to the center of a circle) were carried out in a still environment. The mass loss rate, flame radiation and images, tank-shell temperature were recorded. The results suggested that, the oil tank fire characteristics varied with the opening proportion factor of tank top. Comparisons between the combustion behaviors of partly open oil tank fire and fully open pool fire with the same equivalent diameters showed that, the mass loss rates and flame frequencies of tank fires were almost consistent with pool fire. But flame shape varied with the opening proportion factor and eccentricity, for partly opened oil tank fire, the flame shape is unsymmetrical but L-shaped, and flame height showed difference with pool fire as flame height gets lower when opening proportion factor approaches 0. We compared the flame radiation and tank-shell temperature of open end side and opposite side, found the difference and inferred the significant causes leading to the difference were opening proportion and opening eccentricity. © 2013 International Association for Fire Safety Science.