BLEVE

BOILING LIQUID EXPANDING VAPOR EXPLOSION

NUGRAHANTO WIDAGDO
SHE-Q DEPT.
PT BADAK NGL
2007

SHE-Q MOMENT

AGENDA
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Definition and Characteristic of BLEVE

Significant BLEVE Accidents
Type of BLEVE
BLEVE Hazards
How to Prevent BLEVE
BLEVE Mitigation
BLEVE Simulation Result

DEFINITION

BLEVE or Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion can be

defined as a major failure of a container at a moment in time
when the contained liquid is at a temperature well above its
atmospheric pressure boiling point.

A type of explosion that can occur when a vessel containing a

pressurized liquid is ruptured.

A BLEVE is what happens, for instance, when a closed

container of flammable liquid is exposed to strong heating.

CHARACTERISTIC
If you have:

Pressurized and isolated vessel

Flammable liquid

Heating sources nearby

You have the chance to experience the BLEVE within 14

minutes* in average.
* H.R. Wesson & J.R. Lott, Effectiveness of fire resistant coatings applied to
structural steels exposed to direct flames contact, radiant heat fluxes, and
mechanical and cryogenic thermal shock, AGA Transmission Conference, St.
Lois, 1977.

SIGNIFICANT BLEVE ACCIDENTS

Several significant BLEVE accidents are as
follows:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Feyzin, France in 1966

Kingman, Arizona in 1973
San Juan Ixhuatepec, Mexico in 1984
Others:

Waverly, Tennessee in 1978

San Carlos, Spain in 1978
Quebec, Canada in 1993
Burnside, Illinois in 1997
Albert City, Iowa in 1998

FEYZIN, FRANCE - 1966

FEYZIN, FRANCE - 1966

On January 4, 1966
Leak in 1200 M3 Propane sphere
18 killed, 81 injured
BLEVE causes:
Further sphere toppled
Adjacent Petrol Tank caught fire
48 Hours to gain control

KINGMAN, ARIZONA - 1973

MEXICO - 1984
Before the Incidents

MEXICO - 1984

MEXICO - 1984

MEXICO - 1984

MEXICO - 1984
On November 19, 1984
Leak in LPG Storage Facility, ignition from flare
pit
Estimated total inventory: 12000 m3
500 killed, approx. 7000 injured
Loss US$ 100 Millions, including:
4 spheres destroyed, 44 cylindrical tanks damaged
Several buildings on site completely destroyed

OTHERS BLEVE ACCIDENTS

1. Waverly, Tennessee on Feb 24, 1978

A tank car containing liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)

exploded
16 killed, 43 injured to various degrees
16 structures were destroyed, another 20 were seriously
damaged

2. San Carlos, Spain in July 1978

A road tanker carrying about 22 tonnes of propylene

ruptured
Over 200 killed

OTHERS BLEVE ACCIDENTS

3. Quebec, Canada on June 27, 1993

A 1,055 gallon (4,000 L) propane tank was exposed to

barn fire
4 killed, 8 injured

4. Burnside, Illinois on October 2, 1997

A 1,000 gallon (3,785 L) LP-Gas tank exposed to a fire in a

nearby grain dryer
2 killed, 2 injured

5. Albert City, Iowa on April 9, 1998

An 18,000 gallon LP-Gas tank exposed to a turkey farm

fire
2 killed, 7 injured

TYPE OF BLEVE
There are 3 common types of BLEVE:
1. Thermally Induced BLEVE
2. Mechanically Induced BLEVE
3. Pressure Induced BLEVE

THERMALLY INDUCED BLEVE

FULL OPEN PRESSURE

START TO DISCHARGE
PRESSURE

DURATION OF FIRE EXPOSURE

TANK
FAILURE

SHELL STRENGTH (LOCALIZED

INTERNAL PRESSURE

When a pressure vessel that is partially filled with

liquid is exposed to a fire.

THERMALLY INDUCED BLEVE

The scenario generally
is as follows:
1.

2.

3.

A partially filled pressure

vessel is subjected to high
heat flux from a fire.
The liquid temperature
starts to increase, causing
pressure increase also
within vessel. When the
relief valve pressure
setting is reached, starting
to vent vapor.
Temperature on tank shell
that is not in contact with
the liquid increase
dramatically.

OPEN

P
T

OPEN

P
T

THERMALLY INDUCED BLEVE

4.

5.

The heat weakens the tank

shell and Thermally
Induced Stress are created
near the vapor/liquid
interface.

The heat, stress, and high

internal pressure combine
to cause a sudden violent
tank rupture.

OPEN

Heat weakens the Ullage

Space Area

THERMALLY INDUCED BLEVE

6.
7.

Tank fragments are propelled away to some distance at great

force.
Most of the remaining liquid vaporizes rapidly and the rest is
mechanically atomized to small drops. A fireball is created by the
burning vapor and liquid.

Fireball

propel to great distance

MECHANICALLY INDUCED BLEVE

When a pressure vessel that is partially filled with
liquid is mechanically damaged.
This type of BLEVE is very rare for storage tanks, but
is not uncommon in transportation accidents.
One good example is the tank car incident at Kali
Krasak Bridge near Magelang, Indonesia in 1992.
When the tank car had an accident, rolled and the
imposed stresses damaged the tank and failed
catastrophically. Then the great explosion
destroyed the bridge.

PRESSURE INDUCED BLEVE

When a pressure vessel is allowed to become
completely filled with liquid. The temperature rises
and there is no pressure relief valve or the pressure
relief capacity is insufficient from exceeding the
strength of the tank.
This type of BLEVE have occurred in several accident
involving small, portable LPG cylinders for domestic
use.
However this BLEVE is rarely happened on a vessel
with pressure relief valves.

BLEVE HAZARDS
BLEVE poses 4 main types of hazards:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Overpressure
Flying Shrapnel Object
Rocketing Tank Parts
Fireball

OVERPRESSURE
There are 2 sources of overpressure:
1. Expansion of the vapor that was present in the
tank
2. Flashing
rapid change from liquid to vapor
A BLEVE can cause neighboring vessels, if within few
meters, to shift from their supports, resulting in
failure of connected piping, thus causing accident to
propagate.
Overpressure wave can also cause serious injuries,
especially those who do not wear protective
clothing.

FLYING SHRAPNEL OBJECTS

Hazards posed by pieces of metal tank that are scattered

when a tank ruptures are difficult to quantify.
The hazards will depend on energy that is transmitted to:
Pieces of the fragments
Sizes of the fragments
Weight of the fragments
Actual data gathered on the distances show that larger
fragments of 125 m3 (33,000 gal) tank can reach as long as
460 m (1,500 ft). Smaller fragments could be thrown to
several thousand feet.
NFPA course, Handling Hazardous Materials Transportation
Emergencies, recommends an evacuation distance of 760 m
(2,500 ft).

ROCKETING TANK PARTS

The end tubes of several bullet tank could travel
in greater distance. For instance, a large segment of
a 36 m3 (9,500 gal) tank could reach approximately
1,200 m (3,900 ft).

FIREBALL
Fireball created by combustion of the mixture of
vapor and liquid that is explosively dispersed by the
sudden rupture of the tank.
Sudden expansion of compressed vapor and large
quantity vapor from liquid flashing create a large
ball of liquid droplets and vapor.
The heat of burning dispersed liquid and vapor
causes a powerful thermal updraft which interacts
with the burning fuel/air mixture to create toroidal
shaped ball of fire.

BLEVE PARAMETERS

BLEVE PARAMETERS

HOW TO PREVENT BLEVE

Proper design is applied

Prevent the fire
Prevent the heat of the fire
Avoid overpressure

PROPER DESIGN
Pressure vessel and its associated piping
system
Sufficient relief valve capacity
Material strength
Siting of major hazards installation
Fire protection system design

PREVENT THE FIRE

Head shields and shelf couplers on railroad
tank cars. This type of modification would be
beneficial to prevent spill and fire following
the derailments.
Proper diking and drainage would be very
useful for preventing liquid pools in case of
accidental release.

PREVENT THE HEAT OF THE FIRE

Insulation. Ordinary type of insulation and jacketed
with a steel skin demonstrate the effectiveness of
insulation as a preventive measure. Other type of
insulation is epoxy intumescent coatings.
Advantage of the coatings:

Low moisture permeability

High adhesion to the substrate
Low differential expansion at steel interface
Bonded fixings not necessary
High mechanical strength
Low corrosivity
Good surface finish

PREVENT THE HEAT OF THE FIRE

Water. With sufficient water sprayed into the tank,
it is possible to keep the tank and its contents below
100C (212F). Type of application are such as a
fixed water spray nozzles, deluge systems and
monitor nozzles.

AVOID OVERPRESSURE
Keep the tank shell full with liquid
throughout entire time of fire exposure
Admit water into the tank
De-pressurization system

BLEVE MITIGATION
Since BLEVE has uncertain and very short
time to occur, NFPA recommended to
evacuate the area and allow the impinging
fire to burn itself out .
Other alternative could be to remove the
vessel from the impinging flame (for the
mobile tank).
And also to keep vessels cool and evacuate
the area.

COULD LNG TANKS BLEVE?

LNG tanks are not designed for pressure, and even if subjected to
external fire, cannot be over pressurize to a level that would cause
a BLEVE event. LNG tanks won't BLEVE because:

tanks are doubled walled (outer concrete wall up to 2 ft thick)

outer shell will prevent direct flame impingement on the inner tank
insulation between the outer and inner wall will greatly slow heat
transfer to the LNG.

The tanks are also spaced sufficiently that the radiant heat from a
fire on one tank would not cause a cascading failure of the other
tanks. The outer concrete tank will be designed to withstand heat
from an adjacent tank fire. Fire water systems will be stationed
around the tanks and operating areas and would be used to keep
surrounding equipment and facilities cool in case of a fire.

BLEVE SIMULATION

Software used in PT Badak NGL: Canary 4.2 by Quest Inc.

Case types covered in the software:
Vapor Dispersion/VCE
Explosions
Pool Fire
Flare/Torch Fire
Fireball (BLEVE)
Fireball (BLEVE) model takes inputs from the user
concerning the amount, type, and properties of flammable
fluid involved. The model makes dynamic (time-varying)
calculations to describe the size of the fireball, location of
the fireball, and the expected heat exposure to the
surrounding area.

BLEVE SIMULATION
Scenario of Emergency Drill E4C-1 in 2007
On 30 April 2007, there was a contractor crew
installing a fire-proofing for 4C-1 Propane
Accumulator. Then they struck and ruptured a
downstream block valve flange, resulting a big
flammable gas leak in 4C-1 Train E and spread
over quickly downwards wind direction
If this condition is uncontrolled and there is heat
source nearby, it will lead to the catastrophic
failure of the vessel and create BLEVE.

BLEVE SIMULATION
Hazard Analysis Result

BLEVE SIMULATION

BLEVE SIMULATION

BLEVE SIMULATION
Example from the Canarys Manual
One of the products produced by the petrochemical
company you work for is propylene. Due to changes in the
demand for propylene, the Projects Group is considering
installing a rail tank car loading rack on the railroad spur
that enters your plant. You have been asked to provide
assistance to the Projects Group by analyzing the potential
consequences of major accidents at the proposed rail tank
car loading facility.
One area of particular concern is a school yard that, at its
closest point, is 755 feet from the proposed location for
the loading rack. The Projects Group specifically wants to
know if children playing outside the school could be fatally
injured by the radiant heat effects of a rail tank car BLEVE.

BLEVE SIMULATION
The type of rail tank car that will be loaded at the new
facility has a nominal capacity of 33,000 gallons, and one
pressure relief valve (PRV) set to open at 308 psig. In order
to be conservative, you decide to do a worstcase analysis
by modeling the BLEVE of a fully-loaded tank car, assuming
the tank ruptures catastrophically when the pressure
inside the tank is 120% of the PRV set point. This scenario
is assumed to occur when there is a fire impinging on the
railcar, heating it such that the propylene is just below the
boiling point at the maximum pressure.
Note: The tank car is assumed to be loaded to 85% of its
nominal capacity.

BLEVE SIMULATION
Hazard Analysis Result

BLEVE SIMULATION

BLEVE RESEARCH

The graph shows that peak liquid energy is reached when liquid
temperature stratification is dissipated by pressure relief valve action. If
the tank fails at peak energy then a BLEVE is most likely. Note that in
this case the tank failed well after the peak energy was reached. This
tank did BLEVE.

BLEVE RESEARCH

This graph shows how engulfment fraction affects the time to peak
energy. For a given tank there may be an engulfment fraction that
causes a tank to fail just as its peak energy is reached. This would give
the worst hazard for this given tank.

BLEVE RESEARCH

This plot shows how projectile range depends on tank orientation. Note
that most projectiles landed within 50 m on either side of the line drawn
through the tank axis. This 50 m represents approximately 3 fireball
radii for this tank and fill level. However, note that some projectiles did
go well out of this zone.

BLEVE RESEARCH

This plot shows range distribution as a function of distance (normalized

in fireball radii) for a range of tank scales. Note that when approaching
from the side nearly 90% of projectiles fall within 4 fireball radii

BLEVE RESEARCH

Blast can also be normalized to fireball radius units. As can be seen

from the figure at a distance of 4 fireball radii the hazard from the blast
is small. It should be noted that this blast is the that associated with the
expansion of the vapour and liquid energy and does not include the
blast from vapour cloud explosions.

BLEVE RESEARCH

This graph shows how time to tank failure depends on the tank scale
and the fire type. In this case the tanks are not equipped with thermal
barriers or water spray systems.

THANK YOU