Vessel rupture is typically caused by an increase in the internal energy of the vessel contents and insufficient emergency relief. Under fire exposure or internal heating by a runaway reaction, or both, the vessel wall temperature increases, the tensile strength of the vessel walls' metal decreases, and resistance to internal pressure decreases. Vessel wall dynamics analysis is a valuable tool capable of predicting not only when the vessel is expected to fail (i.e., stress due to internal pressure is greater than the ultimate tensile strength) but also at what temperature, pressure, and fluid composition. These conditions form the basis for consequence analysis. The available internal energy in the system is a source of fragmentation and deformation energy for the vessel shell, kinetic energy imparted to contents and fragments, and blast wave energy.
The present paper illustrates two selected systems under pool fire exposure. A detailed analysis is provided for the parameters that influence the predicted Time to Failure (TTF) and the internal available energy in the system when failure is predicted. Two key parameters that influence the expected level of vessel failure risk under fire exposure (i.e., TTF) include scenario frequency of occurrence and the available internal energy of the vessel contents.
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