Suppression of Gas Well Blowout Fire Using Water Sprays; Large and Small Scale Studies.
Suppression of Gas Well Blowout Fire Using Water Sprays;
Large and Small Scale Studies.
(1538 K)
Pfenning, D.; Evans, D. D.
NIST SP 995; Volume 2; March 2003.
American Petroleum Institute, Committee on Fire and
Safety Protection, Production Session, Hyatt Regency,
September 11-13, 1984, San Antonio, TX, 1-29 pp, 1984.
Keywords:
fire suppression; blowout fires; large scale fire tests;
small scale fire tests; well fires
Abstract:
Large scale simulation tests were conducted to
demonstrate the effectiveness of water spray systems to
control and extinguish gas well blowout fires. Selected
results from small scale experiments performed in this
research program are given primarily to help explain the
development of the water spray extinguishment method,
but also to examine scaling of important phenomena. Two
techniques of water spray injection, internal and
external to the initial gas jet, were tested at large
scale on fires with heat release rates from 144
megawatts (138 SCFS methane flow) to 222 megawatts (212
SCFS methane flow). Using external water injection from
four nozzles surrounding the gas jet, fires of almost
200 megawatt size could be extinguished with a mass flow
ration (water/gas) of 2.17 (129 GPM water flow) and
continued to burn at a ratio of 1.56 (86 GPM water
flow). This technique of water injection could be the
basis of a practical blowout fire suppression system.
Building and Fire Research Laboratory
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Gaithersburg, MD 20899