Analysis of oil vapor leakage from the accidental hole in the tank wall based on numerical simulations and wind tunnel experiments

ABSTRACT

Tanks have been widely used for oil storage in the petroleum industry. However, there exists deterioration or damage to the tank walls. The leakage and diffusion of oil vapor from the accidental hole in the tank wall can cause serious hazards. With the increasing emphasis on safety and environmental protection, it is more significant to study the microscopic mass transfer mechanism of oil vapor. Based on the wind tunnel experiments and simulations, the model of oil vapor leakage and diffusion from the accidental hole was established and verified. The influence of wind speed and hole diameter was investigated, and the actual scene of fire dike and tank group was also considered. Results show that the influence of wind speed and hole diameter on the overall distribution of velocity and pressure is not obvious, and the influence on the backflow below the accidental hole is pronounced, with the variation of velocity up to 1.91 times at the center of backflow. The oil vapor mass below the accidental hole and the boundary emission outside the fire dike deserve intense attention. When the wind speed is 2 m∙s⁻¹ and the radius is 1.0 m, the concentration of the oil vapor mass increases to the explosion limit. When the wind speed is between 2 m∙s⁻¹ and 4 m∙s⁻¹ and the hole radius is no less than 0.5 m, the boundary emission exceeds the pollution standard. The safety and environmental concerns are highly prominent when the radius of accidental hole is no less than 0.5 m at the wind speed no more thsan 4 m∙s⁻¹. The results further reveal the migration mechanism of oil vapor and provide a basic reference for the safety and environmental protection of oil depots.

KEYWORDS:

• Accidental hole leakage
• oil vapor diffusion
• mass transfer mechanism
• wind tunnel experiment
• numerical simulation

Acknowledgements

This work is supported by the Postgraduate Research & Practice Innovation Program of Jiangsu Province (KYCX23_3141, KYCX23_3029, SJCX23_1571).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the Graduate Research and Innovation Projects of Jiangsu Province [KYCX23_3141]; Graduate Research and Innovation Projects of Jiangsu Province [SJCX23_1571]; Graduate Research and Innovation Projects of Jiangsu Province [KYCX23_3029].

Notes on contributors

Cheng Zhang

Cheng Zhang has been pursuing a Master's degree of Changzhou University since 2021. His research areas include safety and environmental protection in the petroleum Industry.

Weiqiu Huang

Weiqiu Huang is a full professor at Changzhou University. His research areas include oil vapor recovery process, development of absorbing and membrane materials, and oil vapor traceability.

Juan Zhou

Juan Zhou is a senior engineer of Changqing Oilfield Branch of CNPC. Her research areas include environmental protection for oilfield processes.

Zhanyou He

Zhanyou He is a senior engineer of Changqing Oilfield Branch of CNPC. His research areas include oil and gas technology for oilfield processes.

Xufei Li

Xufei Li is a lecturer at Changzhou University. His research areas include oil vapor recovery process, development of absorbing materials.

Xinya Wang

Xinya Wang has been pursuing a Ph. D degree of Changzhou University since 2021. Her research areas include oil vapor recovery process and development of membrane materials.

Xue Xu

Xue Xu has been pursuing a Master's degree of Changzhou University since 2019. Her research areas include safety and environmental protection in the petroleum Industry.

Yuqian Ge

Yuqian Ge has been pursuing a Master's degree of Changzhou University since 2021. Her research areas include safety and environmental protection in the petroleum Industry.

Ning Zhou

Ning Zhou is a full professor at Changzhou University. His research areas include safety assessment of chemical processes.