Numerical study of pool fire radiation hazards in large-scale petroleum derivatives storage tanks in windless condition

The study of the radiation effects of the pool fire is significant considering the life and financial damages to individuals and facilities of a refinery complex. Therefore, in the present study, the radiation resulting from a pool fire of three common fuels, gasoline, kerosene, and crude oil, in three large fuel storage tanks with diameters of 25, 50, and 75 meters and a fixed height of 15 meters was studied numerically. In this study, FDS software was used, which is based on the finite difference approach with an explicit time discretization. As an innovation, the amount of radiation at a height of 1.5, 3, and 5 meters were studied in order to investigate the level of dangers to humans and firefighters of fire extinguishing machines, and at a height of 10 meters to investigate the effect of radiation on other nearby tanks, at different horizontal distances. The results indicate that when the fuel is gasoline, the highest radiation risk is between the tank wall and 1.7 times the tank diameter, and the minimum allowable distance for the safe zone is 2.6 times the tank diameter, which increases with increasing height above ground level. It was also observed that the radiation received at the same distance from tanks with similar diameters differed depending on the fuel, which has a direct relationship with the heat release rate.
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