Tesis doctoral de Adriana Palacios Rosas
Among the major accidents that can occur in processing plants or in the transportation of hazardous materials, jet fires are of particular interest. Although they have a relatively shorter distance of influence than other major accidents, they are characterized by high heat fluxes and if there is flame impingement they can originate a domino effect, leading to a subsequent explosion, large fire, or other events with severe effects. Several experimental and theoretical studies have been carried out; however, most of those works have been focused on small-scale jet fires, subsonic flames or flares, the conditions of which significantly differ from those found in real accidental jet fires, usually reaching larger flame lengths and sonic exit velocities. This lack of research is the reason to explain why the current knowledge of jet fires was still rather poor and the accurate prediction of their effects and consequences was still a problem. The present thesis has been addressed to produce a significant amount of novel and useful information on jet fires, by improving understanding of jet fire structure, reach and radiative features, through analyses, experiment and mathematical modelling. This study has been focused on both existing and also new experimental jet flame data, comprising all together, turbulent non-premixed jet flames vertically and horizontally released into still air, involving several fuels (hydrogen, methane and propane), over a wide range of operational conditions (jet exit velocities, release pressures and pipe diameters). The experimental study developed in this thesis has concerned relatively large jet fires with flames of up to 10.3 m in length and 1.5 m in width. The fuel was propane, and both sonic and subsonic jet exit velocities were obtained from different outlet diameters. The jet fires were filmed with two videocameras registering visible light (vhs) and a thermographic camera (ir). The main geometrical features of the flames were analyzed as a function of the fuel velocity, mass flow rate and jet outlet diameter: jet flame size and flame shape. The treatment of infrared images and measurements obtained from three heat flow sensors located at different distances from the jet fire outlet also led the main radiative features of jet fires to be obtained: incident thermal radiation heat over a target, surface emissive power and emissivity of the flames. expressions for estimating jet flame reach as a function of several variables (mass flow rate, orifice exit diameter, froude and reynolds numbers) have also been proposed. The results and the expressions obtained in this study contribute to a better understanding of jet fires for accurate risk assessment, allowing the obtention of important advances in risk assessment methodologies and the establishment of new measures, regulations, and risk planning policies for the prevention and/or control of this type of major fire, occurred world-wide in industrial establishments and in the transportation of hazardous materials.
Datos académicos de la tesis doctoral «Study of jet fires geometry and radiative features«
- Título de la tesis: Study of jet fires geometry and radiative features
- Autor: Adriana Palacios Rosas
- Universidad: Politécnica de catalunya
- Fecha de lectura de la tesis: 11/01/2011
Dirección y tribunal
- Director de la tesis
- Joaquim Casal FÁ brega
- Tribunal
- Presidente del tribunal: j. angel Irabien gulias
- valerio Cozzani (vocal)
- micaela Demichela (vocal)
- Miguel angel Muñoz messineo (vocal)