BLEVE
Encyclopedia
Pressure
Pressure is the force per unit area applied in a direction perpendicular to the surface of an object. Gauge pressure is the pressure relative to the local atmospheric or ambient pressure.- Definition :...
liquid
Liquid
Liquid is one of the three classical states of matter . Like a gas, a liquid is able to flow and take the shape of a container. Some liquids resist compression, while others can be compressed. Unlike a gas, a liquid does not disperse to fill every space of a container, and maintains a fairly...
above its boiling point
Boiling point
The boiling point of an element or a substance is the temperature at which the vapor pressure of the liquid equals the environmental pressure surrounding the liquid....
ruptures.
Mechanism
If a vessel partly filled with liquid with vaporVapor
A vapor or vapour is a substance in the gas phase at a temperature lower than its critical point....
above filling the remainder of the container, is ruptured—for example, due to corrosion
Corrosion
Corrosion is the disintegration of an engineered material into its constituent atoms due to chemical reactions with its surroundings. In the most common use of the word, this means electrochemical oxidation of metals in reaction with an oxidant such as oxygen...
, or failure under pressure
Pressure
Pressure is the force per unit area applied in a direction perpendicular to the surface of an object. Gauge pressure is the pressure relative to the local atmospheric or ambient pressure.- Definition :...
—the vapor portion may rapidly leak
Leak
A leak is a hole or other opening, usually unintended and therefore undesired, in a container or fluid-containing system, such as a tank or a ship's hull, through which the contents of the container can escape or outside matter can enter the container...
, lowering the pressure inside the container. This sudden drop in pressure inside the container causes violent boiling
Boiling
Boiling is the rapid vaporization of a liquid, which occurs when a liquid is heated to its boiling point, the temperature at which the vapor pressure of the liquid is equal to the pressure exerted on the liquid by the surrounding environmental pressure. While below the boiling point a liquid...
of the liquid, which rapidly liberates large amounts of vapor. The pressure of this vapor can be extremely high, causing a significant wave of overpressure
Overpressure
The term Overpressure is applied to a pressure difference, relative to a "normal" or "ambient" pressure, in various circumstances:* In engineering: the pressure difference over the wall thickness of a pressure vessel...
(an explosion) which may completely destroy the storage vessel and project fragments over the surrounding area.
While the term BLEVE is most often used to describe the results of a container of flammable liquid rupturing due to fire, a BLEVE can occur even with a non-flammable substance such as water, liquid nitrogen
Liquid nitrogen
Liquid nitrogen is nitrogen in a liquid state at a very low temperature. It is produced industrially by fractional distillation of liquid air. Liquid nitrogen is a colourless clear liquid with density of 0.807 g/mL at its boiling point and a dielectric constant of 1.4...
liquid helium
Liquid helium
Helium exists in liquid form only at extremely low temperatures. The boiling point and critical point depend on the isotope of the helium; see the table below for values. The density of liquid helium-4 at its boiling point and 1 atmosphere is approximately 0.125 g/mL Helium-4 was first liquefied...
or other refrigerant
Refrigerant
A refrigerant is a substance used in a heat cycle usually including, for enhanced efficiency, a reversible phase change from a liquid to a gas. Traditionally, fluorocarbons, especially chlorofluorocarbons, were used as refrigerants, but they are being phased out because of their ozone depletion...
s or cryogens, and therefore is not usually considered a type of chemical explosion
Chemical explosive
The vast majority of explosives are chemical explosives. Explosives usually have less potential energy than fuels, but their high rate of energy release produces a great blast pressure...
.
A volcano explodes!!
Fires
BLEVEs can be caused by an external fire near the storage vessel causing heating of the contents and pressure build-up. While tanks are often designed to withstand great pressure, constant heating can cause the metal to weaken and eventually fail. If the tank is being heated in an area where there is no liquid, it may rupture faster without the liquid to absorb the heat. Gas containers are usually equipped with relief valveRelief valve
The relief valve is a type of valve used to control or limit the pressure in a system or vessel which can build up by a process upset, instrument or equipment failure, or fire....
s that vent off excess pressure, but the tank can still fail if the pressure is not released quickly enough.
If the substance involved is flammable, it is likely that the resulting cloud of the substance will ignite after the BLEVE has occurred, forming a fireball and possibly a fuel-air explosion
Fuel-air explosive
A fuel-air explosive device consists of a container of fuel and two separate explosive charges. After the munition is dropped or fired, the first explosive charge bursts open the container at a predetermined height and disperses the fuel in a cloud that mixes with atmospheric oxygen...
, also termed a vapor cloud explosion (VCE). If the materials are toxic
Toxicity
Toxicity is the degree to which a substance can damage a living or non-living organisms. Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect on a substructure of the organism, such as a cell or an organ , such as the liver...
, a large area will be contaminated.
Incidents
In August 1959 the Kansas City Fire Department was hit with their largest loss of life in the line of duty deaths to date, when a 25,000 gallon gas tank exploded during a fire on Southwest Boulevard killing five firefighters. This was the first time BLEVE was used to describe a burning fuel tank.Significant industrial
Industry
Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...
BLEVEs include accidents at Sunray, Texas
McKee refinery fire
The McKee refinery fire on Sunday, 29 July, 1956 was a severe fire-related mass casualty event, killing 19 firefighters. The fire is considered to have the fourth most casualties of fire fighters in the United states for a single fire event. Their names are engraved at the firefighters' memorial...
in 1956, Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
in 1960, Feyzin
Feyzin
Feyzin is a commune in the Rhône department in eastern France.Feyzin takes part of Grand Lyon.The refinery near Feyzin was the location of an explosion and fire on January 4, 1966 which resulted in the deaths of 18 people and the injury of 81.-Transports:...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in 1966; Crescent City, Illinois
Crescent City, Illinois
Crescent City is a village in Iroquois and Crescent townships, Iroquois County, Illinois, United States. The population was 631 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Crescent City is located at ....
in 1970; Kingman, Arizona
Kingman, Arizona
Kingman is located in a desert climate on the edge of the Mojave Desert, but its higher elevation and location between the Colorado Plateau and the Lower Colorado River Valley tempers summer high temperatures and contributes to winter cold and rare snowfall. Summer daytime highs reach above 90 °F ...
in 1973; Texas City, Texas
Texas City, Texas
Texas City is a city in Chambers and Galveston counties in the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 41,521 at the 2000 census. It is a part of the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown, Texas Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
in 1978; Murdock, Illinois
Murdock, Illinois
Murdock is an unincorporated community in Douglas County, Illinois, United States. Its elevation is 640 feet . Although Murdock is unincorporated, it has a post office, with the ZIP code of 61941....
in 1983; and San Juan Ixhuatepec
San Juanico Disaster
The San Juanico Disaster was an industrial disaster caused by a massive series of explosions at a liquid petroleum gas tank farm in San Juanico, Mexico on 19 November 1984. The explosions consumed 11,000 cu. meters of gas, representing one third of Mexico City's entire liquid petroleum gas supply...
, Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
in 1984. In 1978, a BLEVE occurred after a traffic collision involving a LPG truck in the Los Alfaques disaster
Los Alfaques Disaster
The Los Alfaques Disaster was a road accident and tanker explosion which occurred on 11 July 1978 in Alcanar, near Tarragona, in Spain. A tanker truck loaded with 23 tons of highly flammable liquified propylene experienced a fire and subsequent BLEVE while on the N-340 highway directly in front of...
in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
.
See also
- Boiler explosionBoiler explosionA boiler explosion is a catastrophic failure of a boiler. As seen today, boiler explosions are of two kinds. One kind is over-pressure in the pressure parts of the steam and water sides. The second kind is explosion in the furnace. Boiler explosions of pressure parts are particularly associated...
- Expansion ratioExpansion ratioThe expansion ratio of a liquefied and cryogenic substance is the volume of a given amount of that substance in liquid form compared to the volume of the same amount of substance in gaseous form, at a given temperature and pressure....
- Passive fire protectionPassive fire protectionPassive fire protection is an integral component of the three components of structural fire protection and fire safety in a building. PFP attempts to contain fires or slow the spread, through use of fire-resistant walls, floors, and doors...
- FireproofingFireproofingFireproofing, a passive fire protection measure, refers to the act of making materials or structures more resistant to fire, or to those materials themselves, or the act of applying such materials. Applying a certification listed fireproofing system to certain structures allows these to have a...
- Phreatic eruptionPhreatic eruptionA phreatic eruption, also called a phreatic explosion or ultravulcanian eruption, occurs when rising magma makes contact with ground or surface water. The extreme temperature of the magma causes near-instantaneous evaporation to steam, resulting in an explosion of steam, water, ash, rock, and...
- Dry ice bombDry ice bombA dry ice bomb is a simple bomb-like device. While the simplicity and ease of construction, high bursting pressure, and sound make this dry ice activity appealing for recreational purposes, it can be unpredictable and dangerous, and has led to many injuries - and dry ice bombs are illegal in many...
- Chlorine bombChlorine bombA chlorine bomb is a small-scale explosive device using the pressure of chemically produced chlorine gas to produce an explosion. It is made with an airtight container part-filled with rubbing alcohol or similar solvent...
- Viareggio train derailment2009 Viareggio train derailmentThe Viareggio derailment was the derailment of a freight train and subsequent fire which occurred on 29 June 2009 in the railway station of Viareggio , Tuscany . Twenty-six people were injured, and , 32 people were confirmed as having died....
External links
- Kingman, AZ BLEVE — An account of the July 5, 1973 explosion in Kingman, with photographs.
- Huge Explosions - Video of propane and isobutane BLEVEs from a train derailment at Murdock, Illinois (September 3, 1983).
- Propane BLEVE - Video of BLEVE from the Toronto propane depot fire (see also 2008 Toronto explosions2008 Toronto explosionsThe Toronto propane explosion was a series of explosions and ensuing fire that took place on the morning of August 10, 2008, in the Downsview community of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The explosions occurred at the Sunrise Propane Industrial Gases propane facility in the Keele Street and Wilson...
) - Slow-motion video of a BLEVE
- Propane Tank Explosions - Description of circumstances required to cause a propane tank BLEVE.
- Article on BLEVE facts and mitigation