Effect of Diameter on the Burning of Crude Oil Pool Fires.
Effect of Diameter on the Burning of Crude Oil Pool
Fires.
(7754 K)
Koseki, H.; Mulholland, G. W.
Fire Technology, Vol. 27, No. 1, 54-65, February 1991
AND Report of Fire Research Institute of Japan, No. 72,
95-106, September 1991,
Keywords:
crude oil; smoke emissions; thermal radiation; burning
rate; pool fires; boilover
Abstract:
In order to understand the combustion characteristics of
crude oil pool fires, an experimental study was carried
out at the Fire Research Institute (FRI) large scale
test facility. The radiative output, burning rate, and
the concentrations of CO, CO2, and smoke (above the
flame tip) were measured during the burning of Arabian
light crude oil, heptane, toluene, and kerosene floating
on water. The effect of scale was studied by using
steel pans ranging from 0.6 to 3 meters in diameter.
Crude oil burned less rapidly and gave off less thermal
radiation compared with heptane, but when water boiling,
i.e., boilover, ocurred, the burning rate increased by a
factor of two or more. The intensity of boilover is
related to pan diameter and initial fuel layer
thickness.
Building and Fire Research Laboratory
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Gaithersburg, MD 20899