A BLEVE erupting from a tanker.

BLEVE concept

BLEVE, pronounced /ˈblɛvi/ ("blevvy"), is an acronym for "boiling liquid expanding vapour explosion". This is a type of explosion that can occur when a vessel containing a pressurized liquid is ruptured. Such explosions can be extremely hazardous. Image File history File links BLEVE.jpg‎ from the english Wikipedia A photograph of a BLEVE from the EPA web site. ... Image File history File links BLEVE.jpg‎ from the english Wikipedia A photograph of a BLEVE from the EPA web site. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Backronym and Apronym (Discuss) Acronyms and initialisms are abbreviations, such as NATO, laser, and ABC, written as the initial letter or letters of words, and pronounced on the basis of this abbreviated written form. ... This article is about pressure in the physical sciences. ... For other uses, see Liquid (disambiguation). ...

A BLEVE can occur in a vessel that stores a substance that is usually a gas at atmospheric pressure but is a liquid when pressurized (for example, liquefied petroleum gas). The substance is stored partly in liquid form, with a gaseous vapour above the liquid filling the remainder of the container. For other uses, see Gas (disambiguation). ... Atmospheric pressure is the pressure at any given point in the Earths atmosphere. ... For other uses, see Liquid (disambiguation). ... 45 kg LPG cylinders Liquefied petroleum gas (also called LPG, LP Gas, or autogas) is a mixture of hydrocarbon gases used as a fuel in heating appliances and vehicles, and increasingly replacing chlorofluorocarbons as an aerosol propellant and a refrigerant to reduce damage to the ozone layer. ...

If the vessel is ruptured — for example, due to corrosion, or failure under pressure — the vapour portion may rapidly leak, lowering the pressure inside the container and releasing a wave of overpressure from the point of rupture. This sudden drop in pressure inside the container causes violent boiling of the liquid, which rapidly liberates large amounts of vapour in the process. The pressure of this vapour can be extremely high, causing a second, much more significant wave of overpressure (an explosion) which may completely destroy the storage vessel and project fragments over the surrounding area. BLEVEs can also be caused by an external fire near the storage vessel causing heating of the contents and pressure build-up. For the hazard, see corrosive. ... Overpressure, in geology, is a term used to describe the pressure regime in a stratigraphic unit that exhibits higher-than-hydrostatic pressure in its pore structure. ... Boiling, a type of phase transition, is the rapid vaporization of a liquid, which typically occurs when a liquid is heated to its boiling point, the temperature at which the vapor pressure of the liquid is equal to the pressure exerted on the liquid by the surrounding atmospheric pressure. ...

A BLEVE can occur even with a non-flammable substance, and therefore is not usually considered a type of chemical explosion. However, if the substance involved is flammable, it is likely that the resulting cloud of the substance will ignite after the BLEVE has occurred, forming a fireball and possibly a fuel-air explosion, also termed a vapour cloud explosion (VCE). If the materials are toxic, a large area will be contaminated.^[1] Flammable or Flammability refers to the ease at which a substance will ignite, causing fire or combustion. ... This article is concerned solely with chemical explosives. ... A high-impulse thermobaric weapon (HIT), also known as a fuel-air explosive (FAE or FAX), a heat and pressure weapon, or a vacuum bomb, consists of a container of a volatile liquid, in some designs including a finely powdered explosive component as a slurry, and (typically) two separate explosive...

Significant industrial BLEVEs include accidents at Feyzin in France in 1966, Kingman, Arizona in 1973, Texas City, Texas in 1978, and San Juan Ixhuatepec in Mexico in 1984. In 1978, a BLEVE occurred after a road accident with an LPG truck in the Los Alfaques Disaster in Spain. Year 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the 1966 Gregorian calendar. ... Kingman is a city in Mohave County, Arizona, United States. ... For the song by James Blunt, see 1973 (song). ... Texas City is a city in Galveston County in the U.S. state of Texas within the Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown metropolitan area. ... Year 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1978 Gregorian calendar). ... This article is about the year. ... Year 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1978 Gregorian calendar). ... The Los Alfaques Disaster is a truck road accident which happened on July 11, 1978 in Alcanar, near Tarragona, in Spain. ...

Some fire mitigation measures are listed under liquefied petroleum gas. 45 kg LPG cylinders Liquefied petroleum gas (also called LPG, LP Gas, or autogas) is a mixture of hydrocarbon gases used as a fuel in heating appliances and vehicles, and increasingly replacing chlorofluorocarbons as an aerosol propellant and a refrigerant to reduce damage to the ozone layer. ...

References

1. ^ http://maecourses.ucsd.edu/ceng124/pdfs/safety-notes.pdf accessed 2006-11-04

See also

• Passive fire protection
• Fireproofing

Fire-resistance rated wall assembly with fire door, cable tray penetration and intumescent [1] cable coating. ... Fireproofing, a passive fire protection measure, subject to bounding, refers to the act of making materials or structures more resistant to fire, or to those materials themselves. ...

External links

• History of Kingman Regional Medical Center — An account of the July 5, 1973 explosion in Kingman, with photographs.
• Propane Tank Explosion Takes out City Block... TWICE - Video of propane BLEVEs at a Bucheon LPG filling station in Korea (September 11, 1998).
• Huge Explosions - Video of propane and isobutane BLEVEs from a train derailment at Murdock, Illinois (September 3, 1983).
• Propane Tank Explosions - Description of circumstances required to cause a propane tank BLEVE.