Using liquid superheating energy for a quick estimation of overpressure in BLEVEs and similar explosions

Evaluation of the blast-wave overpressure and fragments initial velocity for a BLEVE event via empirical correlations derived by a simplified model of released energy

“…In the first paper, the outcomes of BLEVE tests performed on 400-l propane tanks are reported and in the second one data from tests on a 500-gal tank are presented. In Casal and Salla (2006), data from water BLEVEs are reported. Further data from full-scale fire tests come from Balke, Heller, Konersmann, and Ludwig (1999).…”

“…This approach is practically the same followed by Casal and Salla (2006) in which the thermal energy driving the flashing process (called ''superheating energy'') is equal to the enthalpy reduction of the liquid fraction that does not flash (Eq. (5) of Casal & Salla 2006, paper):…”

A new procedure to estimate BLEVE overpressure

“… Constant volume energy addition (Brode, 1959)  Real gas behaviour and isentropic expansion (CCPS, 2010)  Isothermal expansion (Smith et al, 1996)  Thermodynamic availability (Crowl, 1991(Crowl, , 1992  Ideal gas behaviour and isentropic expansion (Prugh, 1991)  Real gas behaviour and adiabatic irreversible expansion (Planas et al, 2004;Casal and Salla, 2006) Comparative analysis show that all methodologies tend to provide conservative (i.e. high) results, except those based on real gas behaviour and adiabatic irreversible expansion, which give values that are less conservative but more realistic (Bubbico and Marchini, 2008;Laboureur et al, 2014;Hemmatian et al, 2017).…”

“…Most of these methods, however, are somewhat cumbersome to be applied and require many thermodynamic data of the substance involved. As for the one based on the superheating energy (Casal and Salla, 2006), although it is much easier to apply, it does not take into account the contribution of the previously existing vapour, what in some cases -a vessel with low filling degree-could imply a nonnegligible error.…”

Blast from explosive evaporation of carbon dioxide: experiment, modeling and physics

“…Traditionally, the strength of a BLEVE blast is obtained from an energy estimate [1][2][3]. Underlying these energy estimates is an assumption that the energy release in the source area (the evaporation rate) is high.…”