HEALTH, SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENT (HSE)

CGE653
Assignment: Fire and Explosion
PO5, CO2, C4
INSTRUCTIONS:
• ANSWER ALL QUESTIONS.
• SUBMIT YOUR ANSWER IN ONE PDF FILE TO THE DESIGNATED FOLDER
IN MOODLE.
• SUBMIT THE EXCEL FILE USED FOR QUESTION 2 AS WELL.

PNFMK 2021
Question 1 (20 marks)

Many chemical operators believe that the inerted vapors above a flammable liquid are not flammable when
they mix with air. This is frequently not the case: If the inerted vapors escape from the vessel and mix with
air or if the vessel is purged with air after emptying, the resulting mixture might be flammable.

A storage vessel contains liquid benzene at 100°F. The vessel vapor space is inerted with pure nitrogen to
a total pressure of 1/2 in of water gauge. Assume that the vapor space is saturated with benzene vapor.

a) Determine the volume percent concentration of benzene in the vapor.

b) Use a flammability diagram to show whether this mixture will become flammable when mixed
with air.

Information:

• Flammability data - https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/chemical-process-

safety/9780132762489/app02.html
• Limiting Oxygen Concentration (LOCs) (volume percent oxygen concentration)

• Saturation vapor data and Psat equation - https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/chemical-

process- safety/9780132762489/app05.html
• Conversion: 34.4 ft of water gauge = 14.7 psi

Hint:
• To find the volume percent of benzene, determine the Psat of benzene and then find the total
pressure by including the pure nitrogen inerting pressure.
• Use the volume % of nitrogen after considering the calculated volume % of benzene for the
flammability diagram.

PNFMK 2021
Question 2 (20 marks)

During a particular accident, an estimated 39,000 kg of flammable material was released and ignited,
resulting in an explosion and fireball and the subsequent fatalities and equipment damage. The
publication Guidelines for Evaluating the Characteristics of Vapor Cloud Explosions, Flash Fires, and
BLEVES (New York: American Institute of Chemical Engineers, 1994) provides a number of equations useful
for estimating the effects of such an explosion.

The heat radiation intensity (in kW/m2) from a ball of burning vapor is given by the empirical equation

𝐼𝐼𝑒𝑒 = 828𝑚𝑚𝑓𝑓 0.771 /𝐿𝐿2

2
𝐿𝐿 = �𝐻𝐻𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵 + 𝑋𝑋 2

The effective time duration (in seconds) of the burn is given by

𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑒 = 2.6𝑚𝑚𝑓𝑓 1⁄6

The height of the center of the fireball (in meters) is assumed to be constant during the burn and is given
by

𝐻𝐻𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵 = 0.75𝐷𝐷𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚

Finally, the maximum diameter of the fireball (in meters) is given by

𝐷𝐷𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 = 5.8𝑚𝑚𝑓𝑓 1⁄3

For these equations Ie is the effective radiation intensity (kW/m2), mf is the mass of fuel (kg), L is the
distance from the center of the fireball to the receptor (m), and te is the effective time duration of the burn
(s). X is the ground distance from the blast center.

Use a spreadsheet program (such as Excel) to estimate the total number of fatalities resulting from the
burning fireball.

Assume that 400 people are distributed evenly at a distance of 75 m to 100 m from the fireball
center. Divide the distance interval into a number of small increments. Use a small enough distance
increment so that the results are essentially independent of the increment size.

Your spreadsheet output should have designated columns for the distance from the fireball center,
radiation intensity, probit values, and percentage and number of fatalities. You should also have a single
designated spreadsheet cell providing the total number of fatalities.

PNFMK 2021
The probit correlations are given below.

Hint: Use Burn deaths from flash fire.

SUBMIT THE EXCEL FILE.

PNFMK 2021