The analysis of the fire resistance limit of an enclosing wall with a wave-resisting visor as the protection for a group of fuel oil tanks

Abstract

Introduction. An enclosing wall with a wave-resisting visor may be installed to resist the flow of a liquid spill during a tank collapse in accordance with GOST R 53324-2009. This wall should be continuous along the perimeter; it must be made of incombustible materials and have the fire-resistance limit of not less than E 150. As a rule, varieties of heavy concretes are used to construct these walls. However, the actual fire-resistance limit of a structure depends on both its geometric parameters, thermal characteristics and strength properties of concrete used in the case of the long-term exposure to the hydrocarbon fire regime. The work addresses the assessment of the actual fire resistance limit of an enclosing wall with a wave-resisting visor made of heavy concrete designed as the protection for a group of tanks at fuel oil facilities of a thermal power plant.Calculation methodology and results. The calculation of the actual fire resistance limit of an enclosing wall with a wave-resisting visor, designated for a group of fuel oil tanks was performed. The co-authors used the results of studies on the substantiation of a hydrocarbon fire resulting from a flammable liquid spill and a tank failure, empirical dependences for determining the thermal engineering parameters of heavy concrete, as well as experimental data on a change in the compressive strength of concrete at temperatures up to 1,200 °C. The calculation results show that this wall structure can maintain stability for more than 10 hours. Note that the load-bearing capacity of the wall is more than 11 times greater than the bending moment triggered by the standard load. Indeed, the fire resistance of the wall is not less than RE 600. It exceeds the normative values for these types of walls by a factor of four.Conclusions. A common algorithm can be used to calculate the actual fire-resistance limit of enclosing walls of oil and petroleum product tank storage facilities, set by Construction Regulations 468.1325800.2019. At the same time, the results of the above theoretical and experimental studies are recommended for use as the initial data.