Analysis of methods for estimating the area of liquid spillage in case of quasi-instantaneous destruction of the reservoir
Authors:   Academy of State Fire Service of EMERCOM of Russia, Shvyrkov Sergey Alexandrovich , Vorobyov Vladimir Viktorovich ,   Academy of State Fire Service of EMERCOM of Russia
Published: December 2023

Introduction. The normative method provides for the estimation of the spill area of flammable liquid in the case of quasi-instantaneous destruction of a vertical steel tank taking into account its spread both within the boundaries of the fence and outside it with a possible partial overflow with spreading over the surface depending on the spill factor. At the same time, the shape of the area of the liquid spill outside the fence is conservatively taken to be equally distributed along its entire perimeter, acquiring the outlines of a super ellipse. However, an analysis of the statistics of destruction of vertical steel tank showed that the actual areas of the straits had geometric shapes that differed significantly from the normative ones, and their quantitative value was mainly influenced by the slope of the terrain, which is not taken into account in the method. Thus, it is relevant to analyze the results of the assessment of the desired shape and area of the liquid spill, obtained on the basis of the normative method and the proposed alternative, which is based on the processing of statistical data on tank failures. Goals and objectives. To propose an alternative method for estimating the area of the spillage of flammable liquid and its shape in the quasi-instantaneous destruction of vertical steel tank. To develop a computer program "RVS - Wave". do a verification of the method based on a comparative analysis of the results with the actual area of the strait during the destruction of vertical steel tank RVS-2000 with bitumen. Methods. To develop an alternative method, data on the consequences of the destruction of the vertical steel tank at production facilities for the period from 1951 to 2010 were collected, analyzed, summarized and statistically processed. Methods of empirical research were also used: observation, experiment, comparison, description, measurement. Results and discussion. The use of the provisions of the alternative method makes it possible to obtain more reliable results, both in assessing the area of the liquid spill during the destruction of vertical steel tank, and in its geometric shape, and the developed program "RVS - Wave", significantly reduce the time for performing multivariate calculations of the desired parameters, depending on the direction of destruction of vertical steel tank and slope of the terrain. Conclusion. The proposed alternative method can be successfully applied to oil and petroleum product storage facilities in vertical steel tank in the classification of a possible emergency situation, the development of plans for the prevention and elimination of oil or oil spills, fire extinguishing plans, the assessment of fire and industrial risks, including for the purpose of developing additional fire prevention measures in advance and determining the number of forces and means necessary to localize the predicted accident and elimination of its consequences. Keywords: tank; quasi-instantaneous destruction; breakthrough wave; earthen collapse; enclosing wall; overflow; area of the strait; evaluation methods; analysis.