Experimental and analytical investigation of thermal coating effectiveness for 3 m3 LPG tanks engulfed by fire

Two large-scale diesel pool fire engulfment tests were carried out on LPG tanks protected with intumescing materials to test the effectiveness of thermal coatings in the prevention of hot BLEVE accidental scenarios in the road and rail transport of LPG. A specific test protocol was defined to enhance reproducibility of experimental tests. The geometrical characteristics of the test tanks were selected in order to obtain shell stresses similar to those present in full-size road tankers complying to ADR standards. In order to better understand the stress distribution on the vessel and to identify underlying complicating phenomena, a finite element model was also developed to better analyze the experimental data. A non-homogeneous and time-dependent effectiveness of the fire protection given by the intumescing coating was evidenced both by finite element simulations and by the analysis of the coating after the tests. The results of the fire tests pointed out that the coating assured an effective protection of the tanks, consistently increasing the expected time to failure. The data obtained suggest that the introduction of fire protection coatings may be a viable route to improve the safety of the LPG distribution chain. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.