الفهرس 
Classifications of Hydrocarbon Storage TanksOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Hydrocarbon fuel is considered the backbone of the majority of the industrial ap- plications and activities. Therefore, hydrocarbon storage tanks are essential to en- sure stable supply of energy resource in several applications and in oil industries and oil refineries. Failure in hydrocarbon storage tanks leads to severe environ- mental and economic losses, which reaches hundreds of millions of dollars, as well as human casualties. These estimated losses become larger due to fire propa- gation among tanks caused by intense incident radiation on adjacent tanks that are exposed to the fire.
Chapter one discusses the impact of accidents in hydrocarbon storage tank farms on economy, industry and human lives. The classifications of hydrocarbon storage tanks are illustrated. Causes of accidents and their safety measures are introduced.
The literature review and the previous research work are discussed in chapter two. Various experimental and numerical studies are investigated and criticized. The codes and standards are shown to be contradicting and sometimes vague re- garding the spacing between the tanks and the optimum cooling water application. Additionally, the relevant research gaps in tank farm safety practice are demon- strated. Finally, the research objectives are stated.
Chapter three discusses the methodology that the author followed for achieving the numerical research objectives. Numerical model is created for investigation using Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS). The governing equations and the solution technique are illustrated in detail. The followed equations and assumptions re- garding the flame d ynamics, the emitted and incident heat fl ux and the thermo- hydraulic model are documented.
Chapter four introduces an analytical model used for calculating the emitted and incident heat flux and the cooling water application rate required to mitigate fire propagation in hydrocarbon storage tank farms. The Non-Uniform Coolant Appli- cation Model (NUCAM) methodology, governing equations and assumptions are illustrated. Additionally, the model framework and limitations are demonstrated in detail.
Chapter five validates the numerical model created on FDS and NUCAM against benchmark experiments. Their level of accuracy and sources of errors are analyzed into details. The validation shows satisfactory agreement between the models and the experimental results. Causes of deviations and error are illustrated in detail.
Chapter six discusses the utilization of the high fidelity FDS model for paramet- ric assessment of fire safety variables. The model investigated two storage tanks of
2.4 m in diameter. The effect of fuel type, wind speed, spacing and cooling water application rate on the incident heat flux on the target tank are analyised and in- vestigated in detail. Significant reduction in incident heat flux on the target tank is noticed when applying 2 L/min.m2 of cooling water on the target tank’s surface.
The improvement is relatively low when increasing the cooling water application
rate form 2 L/min.m2 to 4 L/min.m2.
Chapter seven demonstrates the implementation of the proposed NUCAM on a real-life large atmospheric storage tank farm. Various scenarios of single fires and simultaneous fires due to fire propagation (domino effect) are investigated. Parametric assessment of various fire safety variables is introduced. The effect of the above-mentioned parameters on large scale hydrocarbon storage tank farms is discussed in detail. The model represents a low-order solution for large scale tank farms simulation, which saves time and computational power required in compar- ison to FDS model with acceptable and satisfactory accuracy.
Chapter eight utilizes the results produced from implementation of NUCAM on the real-life tank farm to develop formulae that correlate the incident heat flux and cooling water application rate with parameters such as fuel type, smoke ef- fect, wind speed, spacing and target elevation with respect to fire base elevation. The accuracy and error analysis of the formulae are investigated and demonstrated.
Finally, Chapter nine concludes the findings produced from FDS model and NUCAM. Recommendations for future work to other fellow researchers are sug- gested.