UNCONFINED VAPOR CLOUD EXPLOSION

OBJECTIVE:

To review the types of models available for estimation of accidental explosions

and fire incidents.

Consequences of concern for explosions in general are

shock wave

Over pressure effects

Projectile effects

Consequences of concern for fire are

Thermal radiation effects

When explosion arise from a combustion reaction usually thermal

radiation effects are ignored because of the shock wave effects will predominate

BACK GROUND

purpose

philosophy

applications

DESCRIPTION

description of technique

logic diagram

theoretical foundation

input requirements and availability

output

DISCUSSION

strength and weaknesses

identification and treatment of possible erro

BACK GROUND

Purpose:

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UNCONFINED VAPOR CLOUD EXPLOSION

When large amount of a volatile flammable material is rapidly dispersed

to the atmosphere a vapor cloud forms and disperses.

If this cloud is ignited before the cloud is diluted below its LFL ,

UVCE or flash fire will occur.

Philosophy:

The release of a small quantity of vapor is likely to result in flash fire with

out significant over pressure.

Some form of confinement and cloud turbulence is needed for damaging

overpressures to occur.

Applications:

UVCE models have been applied for incident analysis and in

risk analysis prediction

A flash fire model has been developed for risk analysis only.

DESCRIPTION

Description of technique:

Important parameters in analyzing combustion incidents are the properties of the

material: lower and upper flammable limits (LFL and UFL), flash point, auto ignition temperature,
heat of combustion, molecular weight, and combustion stoichiometry.

Models of UVCE are primarily based on three broad approaches

Detonating high explosive equivalence (TNT)

Correlation with observed UVCEs (TNO)

Idealized gas dynamic models (ACOUSTIC )

TNT MODEL

The TNT equivalency model is based on the assumption of equivalence between

the flammable material and TNT, factored by an explosion efficiency term:

where

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UNCONFINED VAPOR CLOUD EXPLOSION

W is the equivalent mass of TNT (kg or Ib)

is an empirical explosion efficiency (unitless)

M is the mass of hydrocarbon (kg or Ib)

EC is the heat of combustion of flammable gas (kj/kg or Btu/lb)

ETNT is the heat of combustion of TNT (4437-4765 kj/kg

or 1943-2049 Btu/lb).

EMPIRICAL explosion yield

This factor is based on many incidents varies from 0.1 to 0.01

0.2 for symmetric cloud

Up to 0.4 for asymmetric cloud

Scaled range is defined as distance divided by cube root of TNT mass.

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UNCONFINED VAPOR CLOUD EXPLOSION

Logic diagram:

The main inputs are the mass and dimension of flammable cloud and an estimation of explosive
yield. The main outputs are peak over pressure or damage levels with distance.

Theoretical foundation:

TNT model is well established for high explosives but when applied to flammable vapor clouds it
requires the explosion yield.

TNO correlation model is directly related to incident and has a defined efficiency term.

Acoustic models have the soundest theoretical basis for analysis of UVCE incidents

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UNCONFINED VAPOR CLOUD EXPLOSION

Input requirements and availability:

Both TNT & TNO model requires the mass of flammable materials in the

vapor cloud and the vapor lower heat of combustion.

TNT equivalent model requires the specification of explosive yield.

TNO model requires selection of one of the two possible explosive yields.

Eisenberg flash fire model requires flame temperature.

Other models require only vapor cloud dimensions.

Output:

TNT equivalence predicts peak over pressure with distance.

TNO correlation predicts consequences directly.

Eisenberg flash fire model predicts thermal radiation zones, which would be fed into

thermal effect models.

DISCUSSIONS:

Strengths and weaknesses:

TNT

Easy to use.

Explosion yield must be selected.

Substantial physical difference between detonations and UVCE deflagrations.

TNO

TNO correlation model is based on actual UVCE incidents and employs one of two defined

Explosive yields.

But it is limited to flammable materials of medium reactivity.

Weakness of correlation model is that absence of theoretical foundation limits its

applications to the known range of observed incidents