POOL FIRE

Pool Fire Model

A flammable liquid in a pool will burn with a large turbulent diffusion flame. This releases heat
based on the heat of combustion and the burning rate of the liquid.

A part of the heat is radiated while the rest is convected away by rising hot air and combustion
products (CO2, CO, water vapour, O2, N2 from air, and unburnt vapours of the liquid).

The radiation can heat the contents of a nearby storage or process unit to above its ignition
temperature and thus results in a spread of fire. The radiation can also cause severe burns or
fatalities of workers or fire fighters located within a certain distance.

Hence, it is important to know beforehand the damage potential of a flammable liquid pool
likely to be created due to leakage or catastrophic failure of a storage or process vessel. This will
help decide the:-

1. location of other storage/process vessels

2. type of protective clothing the workers/fire fighters need,
3. duration of time for which they can be in the zone,
4. fire extinguishing measures needed, and
5. Protection methods needed for the nearby storage/process vessels.

Calculation of the incident flux, Qi [kW/m2] to an observer involves four steps:-

Qi = 1.143 EP (RP/X) 1.757 [kW/m2] (PF-14)

1. geometric characterization of the flame, (Flame Diameter/Radius/Length, DP/RP/L)

2. estimation of flame radiation properties, (Eff. Emissive Power, EP, Normal boiling, TB)
3. estimation of attenuation coefficients and (Transmissivity, τ ; Distance from frame centre, X)
4. computation of the geometric view factors between the observer and the flame, (VF)

The size of the flame (Flame Diameter) will depend upon the spill surface and thermo-chemical
properties of the spilled liquid.

In particular, the flame diameter (or pool diameter), Dp (if not confined by a dike), the visible
height of the flame (Flame length, L), the tilt and drag of the flame due to wind can be correlated
with the burning velocity of the liquid (i.e. rate of decrease of pool level), y [m/s].

The radiative output (Heat Released, QR [W] & Effective Emissive Power, Ep [kW/m2]) of the
flame will depend on the fire size, the extent of mixing with air and the flame temperature.

Some fraction of the thermal radiation is absorbed by carbon dioxide and water vapour in the
intervening atmosphere.

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In addition, large hydrocarbon pool fires produce thick smoke which can significantly obscure
flame radiation. The smokiness is due to oxygen starvation. The smokiness for kerosene > LPG
> CH4. [Can one add some compound to fire to produce smoke to reduce the flux on nearby
storage tanks?]

Experimental data on thermal radiation hazards suggest that an incident flux, Qi of about 5
[kW/m2] (1600 BTU/hr-ft2) will cause second-degree burn injuries on bare skin if the duration of
exposure is about 45 seconds.

An incident flux level, Qi of 10 [kW/m2] (3200 BTU/hr-ft2) quickly causes third-degree burns
that are likely to lead to fatality. These two levels are typically used in determining injury and
fatality hazard zones.

We need to calculate the following:-

1. The rate of burning, (i.e. the rate of decrease of pool level, y [m/s]
2. The pool diameter (or the flame diameter, Dp, [m2] also Deq, Dmax)
3. The flame length (L [m])
4. The amount of heat released, (QR, [W])
5. The emissive power of a flame, (Ep, [kW/m2])
6. The intensity of heat received at specified distances (i.e. incident flux at any location, Qi,
kW/m2)
7. The damage caused to human beings by the thermal radiation

1. The Rate of Burning (Burning Velocity, y [m/s]; Burning Rate, [kg/m 2-s]

Several simplifying assumptions have been made in the calculation procedure. These are
summarized below:

 Pool area is circular

 Observer is at ground level
 Ambient temperature is 20°C
 Atmospheric absorption of thermal radiation is negligible
 Negligible wind in the vicinity of the flame; thus, uniform thermal radiation field radially and
no flame tilt
 When one assumes that the pool ignition occurs shortly after release, the pool achieves a size
such that the burning rate (m3/s) equals the spill rate, V (m3/s) with some adjustments made
for special circumstances.

Otherwise, the fire has the base area determined via the use of the evaporating or boiling pool
area estimation models.

The specific burning velocity of a liquid pool, y (m/s) is the rate at which the pool level
decreases with time.

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The specific fuel mass burning rate, (kg/m2-s) is a related term, being a product of the specific
burning velocity of a liquid pool, y (m/s) and the fuel liquid density.

Extensive burn rate measurements (kg/s) or (m3/s) have shown a definite relationship between
the burning rate (m3/s) or (kg/s) thermo chemical fuel properties, such as the ratio of the net heats
of combustion and vaporization.

The single most readily available property that best correlates with these heats is the normal
boiling point, (TB).

Therefore, a simple expression for specific burning velocity of a liquid pool can be obtained,
covering a wide range of boiling points. TB (see PF-1)

It is important to note that the correlation developed is independent of the pool size though, in
practice, it increases slightly with the pool size. (flame/pool diameter, DP)

In effect, it is assumed that there is a large, turbulent diffusion flame behaving as an optically
thick gray body.

This condition is satisfied for most pool fire exceeding about 10 feet (3m) in diameter. The
equation to estimate the specific burning velocity of a liquid pool is:

y = 92.6 e (-0.0043 TB) Mw 10-7 (m/s)

S.G.

where,
y = Specific burning velocity of liquid pool, (m/s)
Mw = Molecular weight, (kg/kmol)
S.G. = Specific gravity of liquid (dimensionless)
TB = Normal boiling point (°F)

The lower the boiling point, the higher is the specific burning velocity of liquid pool, y (m/s).
The specific burning velocity of a liquid pool is affected by wind speed and the nature of the
chemical species.

LNG has a very high specific mass burning rate (0.05 to 0.08 kg/m2-s) while kerosene has very
low specific mass burning rate. For methanol, it is 0.02 kg/m2)

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In the combustion of a mixture of compounds, such as LNG, LPG, etc., as the burning
progresses, the higher C-fractions remain.

In an experiment starting with 89% CH4, 11% C2H6 in LNG, after only 6 minutes, the
composition had become 50% each. This affects the rate of burning and the radiation intensity
(Effective emissive power, Ep, [kW/m2]) significantly.

The spectrum of hydrocarbon liquid spill scenarios is wide. Spills can be classified based on the
rate of release, V (m3/s) and duration:
 Continuous spill – in which the spill continues at a specified finite rate for a long
duration
 Instantaneous spill – in which all of the spill occurs in a very short time
 Finite duration spill – where a given volume of liquid is spilled over a given duration of
time. Both the release rate and the release duration are finite.

2. The Pool Size/Diameter (equivalent to the flame diameter, Dp, also Deff; Dmax)

The diameter of the pool fire, Dp [m] depends upon the release mode (whether continuous or
instantaneous etc.), release quantity (or rate), V (m3/s) and the burning rate (kg/m2-s).

In addition, if the spill occurs on land, the frictional resistance offered by the terrain will limit the
spreading velocity of the liquid.

2a. Continuous Spill

In the case of continuous spill, the liquid spreads and increases the burning area until the total
burning rate [m3/s] equals the spill rate [m3/s].

This condition of equilibrium is represented by an equilibrium diameter given by the following

equation;

Deq = 2 [V / Π y]½ (PF-2)

Here,

D eq = Steady state diameter of the pool for a

continuous spill, [m]
Y- = Liquid spill rate, [m3/s]
y = Ligwd bum] ig rate

This equation assu>rnes that' the dominant mode of heat transfer to the liquid pool comes
from the flame and the burning rate is constant. This is a valid assumption for all liquid
hydrocarbons whose boiling temperatures are above ambient. This is also true for

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liquefied hydrocarbon spills on water where heat transfer from water to the pool is
relatively constant.

This results in. a higher burning rate. The equation, however, ignores the time dependent
heat transfer from substrate such as when spill occurs on land where heat transfer from the
land decreases with time. It is also assumed in deriving this equation that the mass balance is
maintained within the burning pool, viz: j burning rate = spill rate. Hence, the loss of liquid
due to percolation through the soil or, dissolution in, the water column is not included.
It is important to note that the equilibrium diameter does not represent the maximum
diameter of the pool. The excess volume spilled up to the time to reach the equilibrium
diameter spreads further. The maximum diameter is given by:

2b. Instantaneous Release

The maximum pool diameter and the time to reach that for an instantaneous release are
given by the following expressions:

Dmax = 1.7892 [V2 (g/Cd) 1/2 / y] 2/11 [m] (PF-4)

tmax = 0.5249 [ V3 Cd /y 7 g 2 ]] 1 / 1 1 [s] (PF-5)

Here Cd is the ground friction coefficient = 0.5 for general use.

It should be noted that an instantaneous unconfined pool fire grows in size until a
barrier is reached or until all the fuel is consumed. Therefore, the maximum diameters
predicted by these equations will exist only for a short duration.
Use of maximum pool diameter will therefore lead to very conservative results. A time
averaged pool diameter can be obtained by integrating the time dependent expressions
for pool diameter, or more appropriately by dividing the maximum diameter by the square
root of two.

2c. Criterion to differentiate between an instantaneous and a continuous release

The criteria by which a given spill situation can be categorized as instantaneous or continuous
are difficult to establish. Comparisons can be made only between the rapid release of a given
volume of liquid and the release of the same volume of liquid relatively slowly.
One criterion for classification is the maximum radius of the burning pool. That is, for a
given situation, the maximum radii of spread are calculated using both instantaneous and
continuous models, and the spill is classified into the category which gives the smaller of the
two s read extent.

It is indicated that a spill can be treated as instantaneous if its dimensionless time, τ , is less
that 0.002:

τ = tS y / V 1/3 [Dimensionless] (PF-6)

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where, tS, is the spill duration, [s]
y = burning velocity, [m/s]
V = volume spilled, [m 3]

3. The Flame Length

The mean visible flame length (height), L [m] is based on the correlation of experimental
data for laboratory-scale wooden crib fires which agrees well with the observations of actual liquid
pool fires.

Based on these experimental data, Thomas [3] developed a correlation for the mean visible
flame length (height):

L = Flame (height [m]

DP = Flame(Pool) diameter, [in]; often L/Dp is taken = 2
m = Mass burning rate,
p = Vapour density at ambient temperature, [ kg/m3]
g = Gravitational acceleration, [9.8 m/s2 ]

if there is a significant wind blowing, the flame can tilt and also go over the pool periphery by
as much as 50% (Fig.PF-1).

The angle of inclination of the flame is given by

(PF-8)

where

This will affect the flame size since the effective pool radius will increase.

4. The Amount of Heat Released, Q R [W]

where

QR = amount of heat released, [J/s = W]

Dp = flame (pool) diameter, [m]
m = mass burning rate, [kg/m 2-s]

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 ΔHc = heat of combustion, [J/kg]

The heat of combustion is dissipated primarily by convection and radiation. The latter is
what affects structures, process equipment, storage vessels and workers/fire fighters in the
neighborhood. This radiative heat transfer [kW/m 2], (Effective emissive power, E p &
Radiation flux, Q i) is the one that will concern us henceforth.

5. The Emissive Power of a Flame, Ep [kW/m2]

The emissive power of a large turbulent flame is a function of the black body emissive power
and the flame emissivity. The black body emissive power, in turn, can be computed using
Planck's law of radiation, if the mean radiation flame temperature is known.

For incident flux calculations, however, it is more important to estimate the effective emissive
power of the flame, which accounts for shielding by surrounding layers of smoke for liquid hydrocarbon
fires.

Based on observed values of emissive powers reported in the literature and other available data,
the effective emissive power was correlated to the normal ' ing point(for selected fuels by the
expression:
Ep = – 0.313 T13 + 117 [kW/m2] (PF-11)
where:
Ep = Effective emissive power, [kW/m2]
TB = Normal boiling point, [F]

Materials with a boiling point above 30°F typically burn with sooty flames.

The emissive power from the sooty portion, based on limited data, is of the order of 20 kW/m2.
An effective sooty flame average emissive power can therefore be estimated by assigning
relative areas of sooty and unshielded flame and calculating an area based average emissive power.
6. The Heat Received at a Particular Location (The incident flux at any location, Qi, [kW/m2'1
The incident flux at any given location is given by the equation:

(PF-12)

where:
Qi = Incident flux, [kW/m2]
Ep = Effective emissive power;[kW/m2]
τ = Transmissivity
VF =Geometric view factor

τ, the transmissivity coefficient, is mainly a function of the path-length (distance from observer to
flame surface), relative humidity, and the flame temperature.

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For calculation T is set equal to one (1) (more conservative) and the attenuation of thermal. flux
due to atmospheric absorption is not taken into account.

This assumption provides a conservative hazard estimate, since the presence of water and carbon
dioxide tends to reduce the incident flux at any given location.

The view factor, VF defines the fraction of flame that is seen by a given observer. This
geometric term has been calculated as a function of distance .from the flame centre for an
upright flame approximated by a cylinder.

It has also been assumed that the optimum orientation between the observer and the flame that
yields a maximum view factor prevails. The resulting equation is as follows:

VF = 1.143 (Rp/X)1-757 [dimensionless] (PF-13)

Where
X = Distance from flame center, [m]
RP = Pool radius, m

Equation (PF-12) for the incident flux can be written as:

Qi = 1.143 Ep (Rp/X) 1.757 [kW/m2] (PF-14)

This gives the radiant flux intensity, Q at any distance X measured from the centre of the pool. It
can be used to calculate the water sprinkler load on the nearby units( so the heat flux
received and keep the contents cool. )

It can be rewritten to determine the distance (or radius) X for a specified Qi

X = (1.143Ep / Qi )1/1.757Rp [m]
0.57
= 1.079 (Ep/iQi) RP [m] (PF-15)

This can be used to determine the distance between two storage/process units so that the flux
from a fire in one would be less than a specified value, Qi, which could set the second afire.
For fatality, the incident flux level, Qi, is taken to be 10 kW/m2 while for injury, it is taken to be
5 kW/m2.

These are based on the analysis of experimental burn data [4]. For these criteria, the
respective radii for fatality, X10 and injury, X5, are obtained from the equation to be

X10 = 0.29 RpEp0.57 [m] (PF-16)

X5 = 0.43 RpEp0.57 [m] (PF-17)

To recapitulate, we have calculated above the following:

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 i) Burning velocity of a liquid pool (rate of decrease of pool level) (Eq. PF-1)
(Eqs. PF-2,
ii) Flame (or Pool) diameter for a continuous release
3)
iii) Flame (or Pool) diameter in an instantaneous release, and time to reach that
diameter (Eqs.PF-4, 5)
iv) Discussed the criterion to differentiate between an instantaneous
and a continuous release (Eq. PF-6)
v) Length (Height) of flame, L (Eq. PF-7)

tilt angle (PF-8, 9)

vi) Amount of heat released, QR [W] (Eq. PF-10)

vii) Effective emissive power, E p [kW/m2] (Eq.PF- 11)

viii) View factor, VF (Eq. PF-13)

ix) Incident flux, Qi at any distance, X [m] (Eq. PF-14)

x) Distance (or Radius), X, for any specified Qi (Eq. PF-15)

xi) The radius for fatality, X10 (radiation flux, Qi = 10 kW/m2) (Eq. PF-16)

xii) The radius for fatality, X5 (radiation flux, Qi = 5 kW/m2) (Eq. PF-17)