Instantaneous liquid release from a rail tanker: The influence of noise shields on pool shape and pool size

The Viareggio LPG railway accident: Event reconstruction and modeling

“…In the simulation, it was assumed that the depth of the pebbles was 10 cm and the pool spread through them reaching a depth of 6 cm. This value, which is lower than the one reported in [18], is justified by the absence of a macroscopic depression/containment. Actually, the aforementioned obstacles, acting as an irregular confinement of about 10 m in diameter, together with the permeable ballast, could have led to flames as high as 25 m (Fig.…”

“…This portion of the pool was about 90 m long and 1 m wide, whilst the remaining part of the liquid formed a rather circular pool 15-20 m in diameter. According to Rosmuller measures [18], close to the noise shield, the pool reached a depth of about 15 cm. In the simulation, it was assumed that the depth of the pebbles was 10 cm and the pool spread through them reaching a depth of 6 cm.…”

“…Instead, there were piles of pebbles, depressions, and some obstacles that probably played the role of a fortuitous bund. Rosmuller [18] experimented the spreading of colored water on the railway ballast close to a noise shield and demonstrated that it influenced significantly both the pool shape and height. In fact, in his experiments the pool was not circular because the released water flowed into the depression between the ballast and the noise shield.…”

Complexity and uncertainty in the assessment of the Viareggio LPG railway accident

“…In the meantime, the liquid fraction spread on an irregular terrain, found some obstacles that compromised a symmetric spreading, and it was partially absorbed by the permeable ballast made of pebbles and rocks. The liquid outflow bounced and splashed on the ballast giving rise to either a very extended and narrow pool along the railroad (see also Rosmuller, 2009) or to several smaller pools that reached the locomotive stopped quite far (i.e. 35 m) from the first derailed and punctured tank car (Dellacasa, 2009).…”