Data summary of the national fire protection association's BLEVE tests

Abstract

Abstract In conjunction with the production of a new film entitled BLEVE Update® 2 , the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) sponsored a series of six Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion (BLEVE) tests using 1.893 m 3 propane tanks. The purpose of the experiments was to obtain film footage of BLEVEs and to compile test data and documentation that might help to better define failure mechanisms and other important physical processes involved. The experiments included tests with simulated pool fires and tests with liquid and gaseous flame jets. The fill level of each tank was varied for the six experiments. The tanks were instrumented with thermocouples and pressure transducers in both the liquid and vapor space. This paper describes the test setup and summarizes the data measurements obtained.