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Evaluation of localized pool fire models to predict the thermal field in offshore topside structures

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Abstract

This article presents a comparative study to predict the thermal behavior of an offshore topside structure under localized fire using different fire models. Thermal fields are estimated using models with different approaches. Sophisticated fire models based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) are often used in the analysis of this type of accident. However, their high complexity and calculation time make it difficult to use in the design stage of the structure. Simple models usually offer lower temperatures than those estimated by the CFD-FEM model, with limited use in structures with complex geometries. Localized fire with ellipsoidal solid flame (LF-ESF) model was developed as an alternative to previous models that are excessively complex (CFD based) or estimate lower temperatures (Simple). LF-ESF model can evaluate in the design stage the thermal behavior of steel structures under localized fires with the appropriate accuracy in acceptable computation time. The thermal analysis is developed with the aid of commercial software of finite elements. Three case studies are analyzed considering localized fire due to the burning of hydrocarbons. The first two develop the thermal analysis in simple structures and show the main differences between each fire model considered. The last case study evaluated the thermal behavior of an offshore topside structure. The results obtained allow to conclude that the LF-ESF model realistically represents the temperature fields generated by the fire with a relatively low computational cost as compared to the CFD models.

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Abbreviations

\( b \) :

Characteristic plume radius (m)

\( c_{p} \) :

Specific heat (J/g K)

\( e_{{{\text{r}},{\text{abs}}}}^{{\prime \prime }} \) :

Radiant energy absorbed (kW/m2)

\( e_{{{\text{r}},{\text{emi}}}}^{{\prime \prime }} \) :

Radiant energy emitted (kW/m2)

\( e_{{{\text{r}},{\text{inc}}}}^{{\prime \prime }} \) :

Radiant incident energy (kW/m2)

\( e_{{{\text{r}},{\text{ref}}}}^{{\prime \prime }} \) :

Radiant energy reflected (kW/m2)

\( g \) :

Gravitational acceleration (m/s2)

\( h_{\text{tot}}^{\text{AST}} \) :

Net adiabatic heat transfer coefficient (kW/m2 K)

\( h_{\text{conv}} \) :

Convective heat transfer coefficient (kW/m2 K)

\( k \) :

Thermal conductivity (W/mK)

\( m^{{\prime \prime }} \) :

Burning rate per unit area (kg/m2 s)

\( q_{\text{conv}}^{{\prime \prime }} \) :

Convective heat flux (kW/m2)

\( q_{f} \) :

Heat release rate per unit area (kW/m2)

\( q_{\text{tot}}^{{\prime \prime }} \) :

Net heat flux (kW/m2)

\( q_{\text{rad}}^{{\prime \prime }} \) :

Radiant heat flux (kW/m2)

\( r \) :

Radial distance to flame axis (m)

\( \bar{r} \) :

Normalized flame axis distance

\( t_{\text{d}} \) :

Fire decay time for NFSC curve (s)

\( t_{\text{g}} \) :

Fire growth time for NFSC curve (s)

\( t_{s} \) :

Fire constant behavior time for NFSC curve (s)

\( z \) :

Height of the selected point (m)

\( z_{o} \) :

Height of the virtual source (m)

\( A_{\text{fs }} \) :

Free surface area of the pool fire (m2)

\( D^{*} \) :

Plume characteristic diameter (m)

\( D \) :

Equivalent diameter (m)

\( E_{\text{av}} \) :

Flame average emissive power (kW/m2)

\( E_{\text{b}} \) :

Black body emissive power (kW/m2)

\( E_{\text{fl}} \) :

Flame emissive power (kW/m2)

\( F_{ij} \) :

Geometric view factor

\( H_{\text{c}} \) :

Height of the compartment (m)

\( H_{\text{fl}} \) :

Flame height (m)

\( \bar{H}_{\text{fl}} \) :

Normalized height

\( {\text{HRR}} \) :

Heat release rate (kW)

\( R^{*} \) :

Numerical grid spatial resolution

α s :

Absorptivity

\( \beta \) :

Mean beam length corrector

\( \delta x \) :

Characteristic length

\( \varepsilon_{\text{s}} \) :

Surface emissivity

\( \varepsilon_{\text{fl}} \) :

Flame emissivity

\( \theta_{\text{AST}} \) :

Adiabatic surface temperature (K)

\( \bar{\theta }_{{\left( {\omega ,t} \right)}} \) :

Normalized temperature

\( \theta_{\text{fl}} \) :

Real flame temperature (K)

\( \theta_{\text{fl,eq}} \) :

Equivalent flame temperature (K)

\( \theta_{\text{g}} \) :

Gas temperature (°C, K)

\( \Delta \theta_{o} \) :

Plume centerline temperature (°C)

\( \theta_{\text{s}} \) :

Exposed surface’s temperature (°C, K)

\( \theta_{\infty } \) :

Ambient temperature (K)

\( \kappa \) :

Absorption–extinction coefficient of the flame (1/m)

\( \rho \) :

Specific mass (kg/m3)

\( \rho_{\infty } \) :

Air density (kg/m3)

\( \sigma \) :

Stefan–Boltzmann constant (kW/m2  K4)

\( \tau \) :

Atmospheric transmissivity

\( \varphi \) :

Fire intensity coefficient

\( \chi_{\text{r}} \) :

HRR’s radiant fraction

\( \chi_{\text{lum}} \) :

Percentage of visible flame

\( \omega \) :

Dependent variable (Eq. 14)

\( \Delta H_{{{\text{c}},{\text{eff}}}} \) :

Combustion specific heat (kJ/kg)

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to express their gratitude to the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels of Brazil (ANP) and National Council of Scientific and Technological Development of Brazil (CNPq) for their support to the development of this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ocean Engineering Program, COPPE/UFRJ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Miguel R. Manco, Murilo A. Vaz & Julio C. R. Cyrino

  2. Civil Engineering Program, COPPE/UFRJ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Alexandre Landesmann

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  1. Miguel R. Manco
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Correspondence to Miguel R. Manco or Murilo A. Vaz.

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Manco, M.R., Vaz, M.A., Cyrino, J.C.R. et al. Evaluation of localized pool fire models to predict the thermal field in offshore topside structures. J Braz. Soc. Mech. Sci. Eng. 42, 613 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40430-020-02694-8

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