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Modeling the heating of a tank wall with a burning oil product

 

Basmanov Oleksii

National University of Civil Protection of Ukraine

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6434-6575

 

Karpova Daryna

National University of Civil Protection of Ukraine

http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1692-3630

 

Benediuk Vadim

National University of Civil Protection of Ukraine

http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5109-5295

 

Zazymko Oleksandr

National University of Civil Protection of Ukraine

http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7496-0248

 

Volodchenko Maryna

National University of Civil Protection of Ukraine

http://orcid.org/0009-0007-8551-755X

 

DOI: https://doi.org/10.52363/2524-0226-2025-42-1

 

Keywords: fire tank fire, heat conduction equation, radiative heat flux, convective heat transfer

 

Аnnotation

 

A mathematical model has been developed to describe the heating of the wall of a vertical steel tank containing a burning petroleum product. The model is based on the heat balance equations for the tank wall and the heat and mass balance equations for the petroleum product. For the portion of the wall above the fuel level, radiative heat exchange with the flame, the liquid surface, and the surrounding en-vironment is taken into account, as well as convective heat exchange with petroleum vapors in the tank’s gas space and with the ambient air outside the tank. The portion of the wall below the fuel level participates in convective heat exchange with the liquid and the surrounding air. The lowering of the petroleum product level in the tank leads to a decrease in the specific mass burning rate due to a reduc-tion in the mutual radiation view factor between points on the liquid surface and the flame. Numerical solutions of the system of differential equations make it possible to determine the temperature distribu-tion along the tank wall at any given time. It is shown that the upper edge of the wall experiences the greatest heating. In particular, during gasoline combustion, its temperature reaches nearly 800 °C. The greatest hazard arises from heating of the upper edge of the wall on the downwind side, due to an addi-tional heat flux to the outer wall surface from the base of the flame that extends beyond the tank as a result of wind-induced flame deformation. For example, during gasoline combustion in a vertical steel tank (5000 m3) at a wind speed of 2 m/s, the temperature of this part of the wall exceeds 950 °C. It is also shown that a decrease in the petroleum product level leads to a reduction in flame length. The rela-tive deviation between the calculated flame length and the observed one does not exceed 9 %. The ob-tained results can be used to assess the thermal state of tanks, to predict the possibility of progressive failure, and to develop fire protection measures for tank farms

 

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