Fire scenarios in off-shore installations have high potential to cause severe asset damage and initiate cascading events. Fireproofing materials are a consolidated technique for passive fire protection of equipment units and of supporting structures. However current practice in rating fireproofing materials does not provide sufficient information for safety management purposes (e.g. can not be used to predict ‘time-to-failure’ of pressurized units, which is fundamental in planning adequate egress and emergency procedures). The current contribution presents the results of a study aimed at a better understanding of the performance of fireproofing materials in the protection of critical equipment. The study included results from both experimental and simulation techniques. Different fireproofing materials (inorganic fiber, lightweight concrete, intumescent resin) were considered. The experimental activity was aimed at the definition of fundamental models to describe the thermo-physical properties of the materials. Specific simulation models were used to describe heat transfer through the material. The results were validated by lab-scale tests. Finite Element Model (FEM) simulation allowed for the description of the expected behaviour of process equipment exposed to different fire conditions. The FEM simulation was validated, again, with available results from large scale tests on storage vessels. The study led to a better understanding of the dynamics underlying the effective design for passive fire protection. The criticalities and limits of use of the alternative fireproofing options were identified. As such, the proposed approach paves the way for a safer and more cost effective design of passive fire protection systems in off-shore facilities.
Assessing the safety performance of fireproofing materials for equipment protection
Tugnoli A.;Antonioni G.;Spadoni G.;Cozzani V.;
2013
Abstract
Fire scenarios in off-shore installations have high potential to cause severe asset damage and initiate cascading events. Fireproofing materials are a consolidated technique for passive fire protection of equipment units and of supporting structures. However current practice in rating fireproofing materials does not provide sufficient information for safety management purposes (e.g. can not be used to predict ‘time-to-failure’ of pressurized units, which is fundamental in planning adequate egress and emergency procedures). The current contribution presents the results of a study aimed at a better understanding of the performance of fireproofing materials in the protection of critical equipment. The study included results from both experimental and simulation techniques. Different fireproofing materials (inorganic fiber, lightweight concrete, intumescent resin) were considered. The experimental activity was aimed at the definition of fundamental models to describe the thermo-physical properties of the materials. Specific simulation models were used to describe heat transfer through the material. The results were validated by lab-scale tests. Finite Element Model (FEM) simulation allowed for the description of the expected behaviour of process equipment exposed to different fire conditions. The FEM simulation was validated, again, with available results from large scale tests on storage vessels. The study led to a better understanding of the dynamics underlying the effective design for passive fire protection. The criticalities and limits of use of the alternative fireproofing options were identified. As such, the proposed approach paves the way for a safer and more cost effective design of passive fire protection systems in off-shore facilities.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
