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Blanchat, Thomas K.

Publications and source records attributed to Blanchat, Thomas K..

15 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2019

Pool Fire and Fireball Experiments in Support of the US DOE/DOT/TC Crude Oil Characterization Research Study

This report describes an experimental study of physical, chemical, and combustion characteristics of selected North American crude oils, and how these associate with thermal hazard distances resulting from pool fires and fireballs. The emergence of large volumes of tight oils within the North American Transportation system over the last decade coupled with several high-profile train accidents involving crude oils, has raised questions about the role of oil properties in general, and tight oils in particular, in affecting the severity of hazard outcomes in related crude oil fires. The objective of the pool fire experiments is to measure parameters necessary for hazard evaluation, namely, burn rate, surface emissive power, flame height, and heat flux to an engulfed object. To carry out this objective, a series of 2-m diameter indoor and 5-m diameter outdoor experiments were performed. The objective of the fireball experiments is to measure parameters required for hazard evaluation which include fireball maximum diameter, height at maximum diameter, duration, and surface emissive power using 400-gallons of crude oil per test. The crude oil samples used for the experiments were obtained from several U.S. locations, including including “tight” oils from the Bakken region of North Dakota and Permian region of Texas, and a conventionally produced oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve stockpile. These samples spanned a measurable range of vapor pressure (VPCR x (T)) and light ends content representative of U.S. domestic conventional and tight crudes. The results indicate that all the oils tested here have comparable thermal hazard distances and the measured properties are consistent with other alkane-based hydrocarbon liquids. The similarity of pool fire and fireball burn characteristics pertinent to thermal hazard outcomes of the three oils studied indicate that vapor pressure is not a statistically significant factor in affecting these outcomes. Thus, the results from this work do not support creating a distinction for crude oils based on vapor pressure with regards to these combustion events.

02 PETROLEUM↗
DOE OSTI2016

Fire Intensity Data for Validation of the Radiative Transfer Equation

A set of experiments and test data are outlined in this report that provides radiation intensity data for the validation of models for the radiative transfer equation. The experiments were performed with lightly-sooting liquid hydrocarbon fuels that yielded fully turbulent fires 2 m diameter). In addition, supplemental measurements of air flow and temperature, fuel temperature and burn rate, and flame surface emissive power, wall heat, and flame height and width provide a complete set of boundary condition data needed for validation of models used in fire simulations.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2014

Cost Estimate for a Proposed GDF Suez LNG Testing Program

At the request of GDF Suez, a Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) cost estimate was prepared for the design, construction, testing, and data analysis for an experimental series of large-scale (Liquefied Natural Gas) LNG spills on land and water that would result in the largest pool fires and vapor dispersion events ever conducted. Due to the expected cost of this large, multi-year program, the authors utilized Sandia's structured cost estimating methodology. This methodology insures that the efforts identified can be performed for the cost proposed at a plus or minus 30 percent confidence. The scale of the LNG spill, fire, and vapor dispersion tests proposed by GDF could produce hazard distances and testing safety issues that need to be fully explored. Based on our evaluations, Sandia can utilize much of our existing fire testing infrastructure for the large fire tests and some small dispersion tests (with some modifications) in Albuquerque, but we propose to develop a new dispersion testing site at our remote test area in Nevada because of the large hazard distances. While this might impact some testing logistics, the safety aspects warrant this approach. In addition, we have included a proposal to study cryogenic liquid spills on water and subsequent vaporization in the presence of waves. Sandia is working with DOE on applications that provide infrastructure pertinent to wave production. We present an approach to conduct repeatable wave/spill interaction testing that could utilize such infrastructure.

03 NATURAL GAS↗
DOE OSTI2013

Comparison of the high temperature heat flux sensor to traditional heat flux gages under high heat flux conditions.

Four types of heat flux gages (Gardon, Schmidt-Boelter, Directional Flame Temperature, and High Temperature Heat Flux Sensor) were assessed and compared under flux conditions ranging between 100-1000 kW/m2, such as those seen in hydrocarbon fire or propellant fire conditions. Short duration step and pulse boundary conditions were imposed using a six-panel cylindrical array of high-temperature tungsten lamps. Overall, agreement between all gages was acceptable for the pulse tests and also for the step tests. However, repeated tests with the HTHFS with relatively long durations at temperatures approaching 1000ÀC showed a substantial decrease (10-25%) in heat flux subsequent to the initial test, likely due to the mounting technique. New HTHFS gages have been ordered to allow additional tests to determine the cause of the flux reduction.

Blanchat, Thomas K.↗
DOE OSTI2010

The Phoenix series large scale LNG pool fire experiments

The increasing demand for natural gas could increase the number and frequency of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) tanker deliveries to ports across the United States. Because of the increasing number of shipments and the number of possible new facilities, concerns about the potential safety of the public and property from an accidental, and even more importantly intentional spills, have increased. While improvements have been made over the past decade in assessing hazards from LNG spills, the existing experimental data is much smaller in size and scale than many postulated large accidental and intentional spills. Since the physics and hazards from a fire change with fire size, there are concerns about the adequacy of current hazard prediction techniques for large LNG spills and fires. To address these concerns, Congress funded the Department of Energy (DOE) in 2008 to conduct a series of laboratory and large-scale LNG pool fire experiments at Sandia National Laboratories (Sandia) in Albuquerque, New Mexico. This report presents the test data and results of both sets of fire experiments. A series of five reduced-scale (gas burner) tests (yielding 27 sets of data) were conducted in 2007 and 2008 at Sandia's Thermal Test Complex (TTC) to assess flame height to fire diameter ratios as a function of nondimensional heat release rates for extrapolation to large-scale LNG fires. The large-scale LNG pool fire experiments were conducted in a 120 m diameter pond specially designed and constructed in Sandia's Area III large-scale test complex. Two fire tests of LNG spills of 21 and 81 m in diameter were conducted in 2009 to improve the understanding of flame height, smoke production, and burn rate and therefore the physics and hazards of large LNG spills and fires.

03 NATURAL GAS↗