The boiling liquid expanding vapour explosion (BLEVE): Mechanism, consequence assessment, management

Journal of Hazardous Materials

Volumn 141, Issue 3, 2007, Pages 489-519

  Abbasi, Tasneem ^a   Abbasi, S A ^a  

^a PONDICHERRY UNIVERSITY   (India)

Author keywords

Blast wave; BLEVE; Domino effect; Fireball; Missiles

Indexed keywords

ACCIDENTS; MISSILES; TOXIC MATERIALS; VAPORS;

BLAST WAVES; DOMINO EFFECT; FIREBALLS;

BOILING LIQUIDS;

CHLORINE; PHOSGENE; TOXIC GAS; TOXIC SUBSTANCE;

ACCIDENTS; BOILING LIQUIDS; MISSILES; TOXIC MATERIALS; VAPORS;

EXPANSION; EXPLOSION; HAZARD ASSESSMENT; HAZARD MANAGEMENT; LIQUID; VAPORIZATION;

ACCIDENT; ARTICLE; BOILING LIQUID EXPANDING VAPOUR EXPLOSION; CHEMICAL INDUSTRY; CLOUD; ENVIRONMENTAL RELEASE; EXPLOSION; RISK ASSESSMENT; RISK MANAGEMENT;

ACCIDENTS, OCCUPATIONAL; EXPLOSIONS; HEAT; VOLATILIZATION;

EID: 33847338360     PISSN: 03043894     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2006.09.056     Document Type: Article

References (131)

1. CCPS. Guidelines for Consequence Analysis of Chemical Releases, Center for Chemical Process Safety (1999), American Institute of Chemical Engineers, New York
2. Birk A.M., and Cunningham M.H. The boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion. J. Loss Prev. Process Ind. 7 (1994) 474-480
3. Lees F.P. Loss Prevention in the Process Industries-Hazard Identification, Assessment, and Control vols. 1-3 (1996), Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford
4. Khan F.I., and Abbasi S.A. Risk Assessment in the Chemical Process Industries: Advanced Techniques (1998), Discovery Publishing House, New Delhi
5. Casal J., Arnaldos J., Montiel H., Planas-Cuchi E., and Vilchez J.A. Modelling and understanding BLEVEs. In: Fingas M. (Ed). Handbook of Hazardous Spills (2001), McGraw Hill, New York
6. Khan F.I., and Abbasi S.A. Major accidents in the process industries and analysis of their causes and consequences. J. Loss Prev. Process Ind. 12 (1999) 361-374
7. Kletz T.A. Unconfined vapour cloud explosions. Loss Prev. 11 (1977) 50
8. CCPS. Guidelines for Evaluating the Characteristics of Vapor Cloud Explosions, Flash Fires and BLEVE's (1994), Center for Chemical Process Safety, American Institute of Chemical Engineers, New York
9. Peterson D.F. BLEVE: facts, risk factors, and fallacies. Fire Eng. 155 (2002) 97-103
10. Walls W.L. What is a BLEVE. Fire J. 31 (1978) 46-47
11. Walls W.L. The BLEVE-part 1. Fire Command. 17 (1979) 35-37
12. Marshall V.C. Major Chemical Hazards (1987), Ellis Horwood, Chichester
13. Reid R.C. Superheated liquids. Am. Scientist 64 (1976) 146-156
14. Venart J.E.S., Sollows K.F., Sumathipala K., Rutledge G.A., and Jian X. Boiling Liquid Compressed Bubble Explosions: Experiments/Models, Gas-Liquid Flows vol. 165 (1993), ASME, New York pp. 55-60
15. McDevitt C.A., Chan C.K., Steward F.R., and Tennankore K.N. Initiation step of boiling liquid expanding vapor explosions. J. Hazard. Mater. 25 (1990) 169-180
16. Prugh R.W. Quantitative evaluation of "BLEVE" hazards. J. Fire Protect. Eng. 3 (1991) 9-24
17. Prugh R.W. Quantify BLEVE hazards. Chem. Eng. Prog. 87 (1991) 66-72
18. Leslie I.R.M., and Birk A.M. State of the art review of pressure liquefied gas container failure modes and associated projectile hazards. J. Hazard. Mater. 28 (1991) 329-365
19. Birk A.M., and Cunningham M.H. Liquid temperature stratification and its effect on BLEVEs and their hazards. J. Hazard. Mater. 48 (1996) 219-237
20. Venart J.E.S. Boiling liquid expanding vapor explosions (BLEVE); two-phase aspects of failure. Proceedings of the 39th European Two-phase Flow Group Meeting. Aveiro (2001) 9
21. Reid R.C. Possible mechanism for pressurized-liquid tank explosions or BLEVEs. Science 203 (1979) 1263-1265
22. Shebeko Y.N., Shevchuck A.P., and Smolin I.M. BLEVE prevention using vent devices. J. Hazard. Mater. 50 (1996) 227-238
23. Birk A.M., VanderSteen J.D.J., Cunningham M.H., Davison C.R., and Mirzazadeh I. Fire tests to study the effect of pressure relief valve blowdown on the survivability of propane tanks in fires. Process Saf. Prog. 21 (2002) 227-236
24. S. Shivaji, Forecasting the dispersion and impacts of accidental release of hazardous materials, MTech Thesis, Sri Venkatateswara University, Tirupati, 2004, 171 pp.
25. N.N. Desai. Risk assessment in the transport of hazmats, MTech Thesis, Vishweshvaraya Technological University, Belgaum, 2004, 74 pp.
26. Yu C.M., and Venart J.E.S. The boiling liquid collapsed bubble explosion (BLCBE): a preliminary model. J. Hazard. Mater. 46 (1996) 197-213
27. Khan F.I., and Abbasi S.A. Models for domino effect analysis in the chemical process industries. Process Saf. Prog. 17 (1998) 107-123
28. Khan F.I., and Abbasi S.A. DOMIFFECT: a new user friendly software for domino effect analysis. Environ. Model. Softw. 13 (1998) 163-177
29. Roberts T., Gosse A., and Hawksworth S. Thermal radiation from fireballs on failure of liquefied petroleum gas storage vessels. Proceedings of the IChemE Symposium Series No. 147 (2000) 105-120
30. Novozhilov V. Some aspects of the mathematical modeling of fireballs. Proceedings of the IMechE, Part E. J. Process Mech. Eng. 217 (2003) 103-121
31. Maillette J., and Birk A.M. Effects of tank failure mode and lading properties on propane fireball geometry and fire hazard. Proceedings of the International Conference and Workshop on Modeling and Mitigating the Consequences of Accidents Releases of Hazardous Materials. Louisiana (1995)
32. Venart J.E.S. Boiling liquid expanding vapor explosions (BLEVE); possible failure mechanisms and their consequences. Proceedings of the IChemE Symposium Series No. 147 (2000) 121-137
33. 3 butane sphere on a refinery site. UK Atomic Energy Authority, Safety and Reliability Directorate, Report SRD/R492, 1988, 57 pp.
34. Kletz T.A. What Went Wrong (1985), Gulf Publishing, Houston
35. S.K. Kuriechan, Causes and impacts of accidents in chemical process industries and a study of the consequence analysis software, MPhil Thesis, Pondicherry University, 2005, p. 175.
36. A. Wolf. BLEVE kills two. NFPA (National Fire Protection Association), 2006. http://www.nfpa.org/assets/files/PDF/AlbertCity.PDF.
37. Masellis M. Fire disaster in a motorway tunnel. Prehosp. Disaster Med. 15 (2000) 74-78
38. Planas-Cuchi E., Gasulla N., Ventosa A., and Casal J. Explosion of a road tanker containing liquefied natural gas. J. Loss Prev. Process Ind. 17 (2004) 315-321
39. US-CSHIB. Investigation Report-Catastrophic Vessel Failure, United States Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, Washington, NTIS No. PB 2004-103035, 2004, 53 pp.
40. R.M. Chelvi, Accidents in chemical process industries with a special reference to BLEVE, MTech Thesis, Coimbatore Institute of Technology, 2006, p. 163.
41. G. Vijayraghavan, Impact assessment, modeling, and control of dust explosions in chemical process industries, MTech Thesis, Coimbatore Institute of Technology, 2004, p. 131.
42. Abbasi T., and Abbasi S.A. The expertise and the practice of loss prevention in the Indian process industry some pointers for the third world. Trans. IChemE 83 (2005) 413-420
43. Reid R.C. Some theories on boiling liquid expanding vapor explosions. Fire (1980) 525-529
44. T. Abbasi, B.C. Clarke, S.A. Abbasi, Accidental risk of superheated liquids and a framework for predicting the superheat limit. J. Loss Prev. Process Ind., in press.
45. Wekeshima H., and Takata K. On the limit of superheat. J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. 13 (1958) 1398-1403
46. Moore G.R. Vaporization of superheated drops in liquids. AIChE J. 5 (1959) 458-466
47. Gibbs W. The Scientific Papers vol. 1 (1961), Dover Publications, New York
48. Volmer M., and Weber A. Keimbildung in Übersättigten Gebilden. Z. Phus. Chem. 119 (1926) 277-301
49. Farkas L. The velocity of nucleus formation in supersaturated vapors. J. Phys. Chem. 125 (1927) 236
50. Becker R., and Doring W. The kinetic treatment of nuclear formation in supersaturated vapors. Ann. Phys. 24 (1935) 719-752
51. Blander M., and Katz J.L. Bubble nucleation in liquids. AIChE J. 21 (1975) 883
52. Brennen C.E. Phase change, nucleation, and cavitation. Cavitation and Bubble Dynamies (1995), Oxford University Press, London
53. Li J., Peterson G.P., and Cheng P. Mechanical nonequilibrium considerations in homogeneous bubble nucleation for unsteady-state boiling. Int. J. Heat Mass Transf. 48 (2005) 3081-3096
54. Ford I.J., and Clement C.F. The effects of temperature fluctuations in homogeneous nucleation theory. J. Phys. A 22 (1989) 4007-4018
55. Park H.-C., Byun K.-T., and Kwak H.-Y. Explosive boiling of liquid droplets at their superheat limits. Chem. Eng. Sci. 60 (2005) 1809-1821
56. Birk A.M. Scale effects with fire exposure of pressure-liquefied gas tanks. J. Loss Prev. Process Ind. 8 (1995) 275-290
57. Ramier S., and Venart J.E.S. Boiling liquid expanding vapor explosions: dynamic re-pressurization and two-phase discharge. Proceedings of the IChemE Symposium Series No. 147 (2000) 527-537
58. Stawczyk J. Experimental evaluation of LPG tank explosion hazards. J. Hazard. Mater. B 96 (2003) 189-200
59. Planas-Cuchi E., Salla J.M., and Casal J. Calculating overpressure from BLEVE explosions. J. Loss Prev. Process Ind. 17 (2004) 431-436
60. Kielec D.J., and Birk A.M. Analysis of fire-induced ruptures of 400-l propane tanks. J. Pressure Vessel Technol.: Trans. ASME. 119 (1997) 365-373
61. VanderSteen J.D.J., and Birk A.M. Fire tests on defective tank-car thermal protection systems. J. Loss Prev. Process Ind. 16 (2003) 417-425
62. Birk A.M., and VanderSteen J.D.J. The survivability of steel and aluminum 33.5 pound propane cylinders in fire. Process Saf. Prog. 22 (2003) 129-135
63. K.W. Blything, A.B. Reeves, An initial prediction of the BLEVE frequency of a 100 tonnes butane storage vessel. UK Atomic Energy Authority, Safety and Reliability Directorate, Report SRD/R488, 1988, 88 pp.
64. 3 propane tank. Am. Soc. Mech. Eng. Pressure Vessels Piping Div. PVP 446 (2002) 143-152
65. Van den Berg A.C., van der Voort M.M., Weerheijm J., and Versloot N.H.A. Expansion-controlled evaporation: a safe approach to BLEVE blast. J. Loss Prev. Process Ind. 17 (2004) 397-405
66. Giesbrecht H., Hess K., Leuckel W., and Maurer B. Analysis of explosion hazards on spontaneous release of inflammable gas in the atmosphere. Part 1. Propagation and deflagration of vapor clouds on the basis of bursting tests on model vessels. German Chem. Eng. 4 (1981) 305-314
67. Ogsio C., Takagi N., and Kitagawa T. On the mechanism of vapor explosion. Proceedings of the Loss Prevention and Safety Symposium, PACHEC (1972)
68. Hadjisophocleous G.V., Sousa A.C.M., and Venart J.E.S. Mathematical modeling of LPG tanks subjected to full partial fire engulfment. Int. J. Numer. Meth. Eng. 30 (1990) 629-646
69. Hadjisophocleous G.V., Sousa A.C.M., and Venart J.E.S. A study of the effect of the tank diameter on the thermal stratification in LPG tanks subjected to fire engulfment. J. Hazard. Mater. 25 (1990) 19-31
70. Gong Y.W., Lin W.S., Guo A.Z., and Lu X.S. A simplified model to predict the thermal response of PLG and its influence on BLEVE. J. Hazard. Mater. A108 (2004) 21-26
71. Khan F.I., and Abbasi S.A. TORAP-a new tool for conducting rapid risk-assessments in petroleum refineries and petrochemical industries. Appl. Energy 65 (2000) 187-210
72. Khan F.I., and Abbasi S.A. An assessment of the likelihood of occurrence, and the damage potential of domino effect (chain of accidents) in a typical cluster of industries. J. Loss Prev. Process Ind. 14 (2001) 283-306
73. van den Bosch C.J.H., and Weterings R.A.P.M. Methods for the Calculation of Physical Effects (1997), Committee for the Prevention of Disasters, CPR 14E (TNO 'Yellow Book'), The Hague, The Netherlands
74. Tellez C., and Pena J.A. Boiling-liquid expanding vapor explosion (BLEVE): An introduction to consequence and vulnerability analysis. Chem. Eng. Educ. 36 (2002) 206-211
75. Baker W.E., Kulesz J.J., Richer R.E., Bessey R.L., Westine P.S., Parr V.B., and Oldham G.A. Workbook for predicting pressure wave and fragment effects of exploding propellant tanks and gas storage vessels, NASA CR-134906 (1975 and 1977), NASA Scientific and Technical Information Office, Washington
76. CCPS. Guidelines for Chemical Process Quantitative Risk Analysis (1989), Center for Chemical Process Safety, American Institute of Chemical Engineers, New York
77. Van den Berg A.C., and Lannoy A. Methods for vapor cloud explosion blast modeling. J. Hazard. Mater. 34 (1993) 151-171
78. Baker W.E., Cox P.A., Westine P.S., Kulesz J.J., and Strehlow R.A. Explosion Hazards and Evaluation (1983), Elsevier, New York
79. Holden P.L., and Reeves A.B. Fragment hazards from failures of pressurized liquefied gas vessels. Chem. Eng. Symp. Ser. 93 (1985) 205-217
80. Schulz-Forberg B., Droste B., and Charlett H. Failure mechanisms of propane-tanks under thermal stresses including fire engulfment. Proceedings of the International Symposium on Transport and Storage of LPG and LNG. Antwerp (1984)
81. Scilly N.F., and Crowther J.H. Methodology for predicting domino effects from pressure vessel fragmentation. Proceedings of the International Conference on Hazard Identification and Risk Analysis, Human Factors and Human Reliability in Process Safety (1992)
82. Baker W.E., Kulesz J.J., Richer R.E., Westine P.S., Parr V.B., Vargas L.M., and Moseley P.K. Workbook for Estimating the Effects of Accidental Explosions in Propellant Handling Systems, NASA CR-3023 (1978), NASA Scientific and Technical Information Office, Washington
83. Tulacz J., and Smith R.E. Assessment of missiles generated by pressure component failure and its application to recent gas-cooled nuclear plant design. Nucl. Energy 19 (1980) 151
84. Held M. Fragment mass distribution of high energy projectiles. Propellants, High Explosives, Pyrotechnics 15 (1990) 254-260
85. Clancey V.J. Liquid and vapour emission and dispersion. Course on Loss Prevention in the Process Industries (1976), Department of Chemical Engineering, Loughborough University of Technology
86. Daily Telegraph, 1990, Sydney, 1990, p. 1.
87. Baum M.R. The velocity of missiles generated by the disintegration of pressurised vessels and pipes. J. Pressure Vessel Technol. 106 (1984) 362-375
88. Moore C.V. The design of barricades for hazardous pressure systems. Nucl. Eng. Design 5 (1967) 81-89
89. Baum M.R. Failure of a horizontal pressure vessel containing a high temperature liquid: the velocity of end-cap and rocket missiles. J. Loss Prev. Process Ind. 12 (1999) 137-145
90. Baum M.R. The velocity of large missiles from axial rupture of gas pressurized cylindrical vessels. J. Loss Prev. Process Ind. 14 (2001) 199-203
91. Hauptmanns U. A Monte Carlo-based procedure for treating the flight of missiles form tank explosions. Probab. Eng. Mech. 16 (2001) 307-312
92. Hauptmanns U. A procedure for analyzing the flight of missiles from explosions of cylindrical vessels. J. Loss Prev. Process Ind. 14 (2001) 395-402
93. Cox B.G., and Saville G. High Pressure Safety Code (1975), High Pressure Technol. Assoc. Imperial College, London
94. Kennedy R.P. A review of procedures for the analysis and design of concrete structures to resist missile impact effects. Nucl. Eng. Design 37 (1976) 183
95. National Defense Research Committee (NDRC), Effects of impact and explosion, Summary Tech. Rep. of Div. 2, vol. 1, 1946.
96. Li Q.M., Reid S.R., Wen H.M., and Telford A.R. Local impact effects of hard missiles on concrete targets. Int. J. Impact Eng. 32 (2005) 224-284
97. White R.W., and Botsford N.B. Containment of Fragments from a Runaway Reactor, Rep. SRIA-113 (1963), Stanford Research Institute, Stanford, CA
98. C.M. Pietersen, Analysis of the LPG Accident in San Juan Ixhuatepec, Mexico City, Report 85-0222, November 19, 1984, TNO, The Hague, 1985.
99. Roark R.J., and Young W.C. Formulas for Stress and Stain (1975), McGraw-Hill, New York
100. Gubinelli G., Zanelli S., and Cozzani V. A simplified model for the assessment of the impact probability of fragments. J. Hazard. Mater. A 116 (2004) 175-187
101. Makhviladze G.M., Roberts J.P., and Yakush S.E. Combustion of two-phase hydrocarbon fuel clouds released into the atmosphere. Combus. Flame 118 (1999) 583-605
102. Crawley F.K. The effect of ignition of a major fuel spillage. The Assessment of Major Hazards (1982), Institution of Chemical Engineers, Rugby
103. Papazoglou I.A., and Aneziris O.N. Uncertainty quantification in the health consequences of boiling liquid expanding vapour explosion phenomenon. J. Hazard. Mater. A 67 (1999) 217-235
104. Roberts A.F. Thermal radiation hazards from releases of LPG from pressurized storage. Fire Saf. J. 4 (1982) 197-212
105. Prugh R.W. Quantitative evaluation of fireball hazards. Process Saf. Prog. 13 (1994) 83
106. Birk A.M. Hazards from propane BLEVEs: an update and proposals for emergency responders. J. Loss Prev. Process Ind. 9 (1996) 173-181
107. Birk A.M. An experimental investigation of a cylindrical vessel engulfed in fire with a burning relief valve flare present. Chem. Eng. Commun. 80 (1989) 173-191
108. Pierorazio A.J., and Birk A.M. Dynamic behavior of transportation pressure relief valves under simulated fire impingement conditions. J. Pressure Vessel Technol.: Trans. ASME 122 (2000) 60-65
109. Raj P.K. Exposure of a liquefied gas container to an external fire. J. Hazard. Mater. A 122 (2005) 37-49
110. Shirvill L.C. Efficacy of water spray protection against propane and butane jet fires impinging on LPG storage tanks. J. Loss Prev. Process Ind. 17 (2004) 111-118
111. Nazario F.N. Preventing or surviving explosions. Chem. Eng. 102 (1988) 3-11
112. Londiche H., and Guillemet R. Comparison of three protective devices for BLEVE prevention. Loss Prev. Saf. Prom. Process Ind. 1 (1991) 551-564
113. C. Young, LPG tank anti-BLEVE and automotive tank safety system. US Patent 4,680,937 (2004).
114. Chen H.J., and Lin M.H. Modeling a BLEVE phenomena with application to relief device design for liquefied ammonia storage. Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 38 (1999) 479-487
115. Barator A.N., Baratova N.A., Myshak Y.A., and Myshak D.Y. Proceeding of the Third Asia-Oceania Symposium on Fire Science and Technology. Seoul (1998) 405-416
116. Hardee H.C., and Lee D.O. Thermal hazard from propane fireballs. Transport Plan. Technol. 2 (1973) 121-133
117. Fay J.A., and Lewis D.H. Unsteady burning of unconfined fuel vapor clouds. Combustion 16 (1977) 1397-1403
118. Hasegawa K., and Sato K. Study on the fireball following steam explosion of n-pentane. Loss Prev. Saf. Prom. 2 (1977) 297-303
119. Hasegawa K., and Sato K. Fireballs 12 (1978), Technical Memos of Fire Research Institute of Japan, Tokyo pp. 3-9
120. Williamson B.R., and Mann L.R.B. Thermal hazards from propane (LPG) fireballs. Combus. Sci. Technol. 25 (1981) 141-153
121. Lihou D.A., and Maund J.K. Thermal radiation hazards from fireballs. The Assessment of Major Hazards (1982), Institution of Chemical Engineers, Rugby
122. Moorhouse J., and Pritchard M.J. Thermal radiation hazards from large pool fires and fireballs-a literature review. The Assessment of Major Hazards (1982), Institution of Chemical Engineers, Rugby
123. Duiser J.A. Escape of liquefied gases from broken pipes. The Protection of Exothermic Reactors and Pressurised Storage Vessels (1984), Institution of Chemical Engineers, Rugby
124. J.B. Gayle, J.W. Bransford, Size and duration of fireballs from propellant explosions, Report NASA TM X-53314. George C. Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, USA, 1965.
125. Bagster D.F., and Pitblado R.M. Thermal hazards in the process industry. Chem. Eng. Prog. 85 (1989) 69-77
126. Martinsen W.E., and Marx J.D. An improved model for the prediction of radiant heat flux from fireball. Proceedings of the International Conference and Workshop on Modeling the Consequences of Accidental Releases of Hazardous Materials. San Francisco (1999)
127. Bader B.E., Donaldson A.B., and Hardee H.C. Liquid propellant rocket abort fireball model. J. Spacecraft Rockets 8 (1971) 1216-1222
128. Hymes I. The Physiological and Pathological Effects of Thermal Radiation, SRD R275 (1983), UK Atomic Energy Authority, Culcheth
129. Hymes I. The effects on people and structures of explosion, blast, thermal radiation and toxicity. In: Petts J.I. (Ed). Seminar Proceedings of the Major Hazardous Installation: Planning Implications and Problems. Department of Chemical Engineering, Loughborough University of Technology (1984)
130. Makhviladze G.M., and Yakush S.E. Proceedings of the Third International Seminar on Fire and Explosion Hazards (2000) 579-589
131. C.M. Pietersen, S.C. Huerta, Analysis of the LPG Accident in San Juan Ixhuatepec, Mexico City, Report 84-0222, November 19, 1984, Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research, The Netherlands, 1985.