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Author
Gore, J. P. | Skinner, S. M. | Ip, U. S.
Title
Investigation of Simulated Oil-Well Blowout Fires. Annual Report.
Coporate
Maryland Univ., College Park
Sponsor
National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD
Report
NIST GCR 90-581
November 1990
81 p.
Distribution
Available from National Technical Information Service
Contract
NIST-GRANT-60NANB8D0834
Keywords
well fires | blowout fires | oils | fire investigations | water | flame structure | flame radiation | fire suppression | laminar flames | simulation | temperature measurements | heat flux
Abstract
A study of simulated oil well blowout fires aimed at improving the predictive capabilities needed for the development of radiation and fire suppression technology is described. Measurements of temperature distributions and radiative heat flux to representative locations are used to evaluate the analysis. Methane/air flames with suppression and heptane+methane/air flames without suppression are considered. The analysis consists of (i) construction of state relationships for fuel with water addition and two phase fuel mixtures using species concentration data for single fuels with the help of mixing rules and (ii) application of an existing flow solver under the locally homogeneous flow approximation. The predictions and measurements are in reasonably good agreement. Direct verification of the mixing rule for state relationships and treatment of two phase flow effects is necessary for further improvement.