Consequence analysis of heptane multiple pool fire in a dike

Abstract

Multiple Pool Fire (MPF) reasonably enhances the flame height, the rate of fuel combustion and irradiation due to cascading effect and flame merging of multiple pools. The distribution of temperature and radiative heat flux from the source is the key parameter in predicting safety distance. The current study’s major objective is to develop a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model to calculate the safety distance of MPF and validate the predicted results (flame temperature, radiative heat flux, CO₂ and O₂ mass fraction) with the experimental data. The flame structure and its thermal properties have been evaluated using the Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes (RANS) and the Large Eddy Simulation (LES) model. The CFD results are found to be in close agreement with the experimental findings. The LES turbulence model predicts more accurately the flame structures and the fluctuations with an error of less than 3%, while the Re-Normalization Group k-ε model predicts the average characteristics. This authenticates the accuracy of computational methodology and robustness of the LES turbulence model to predict MPF flame characteristics. Furthermore, this computational methodology can be utilised by the industries for quantitative risk assessment and the worst-case scenario of various pool fires to save the human and material of the workplace beforehand.