Analysis of LPG vessels with defective thermal coatings in large scale fire scenarios

In the framework of LPG transportation, severe fire and explosion hazards are connected to the possibility of the catastrophic rupture of tankers, which may be induced by accidental fires. The installation of a heat resistant coating may prevent the tanker failure by limiting the heat up during the fire. This is a widely used solution among fixed LPG facilities, but some issues still need to be explored, also in the perspective of a wider implementation on LPG tankers in Europe. The present study was aimed at investigating one of the major concerns about thermal coating implementation: the effect of insulating coating defects on the thermal protection performance. A thermal and mechanical model was developed and validated in order to assess the behaviour of real scale tanks protected by defective coatings in fire scenarios, identifying the critical defect size leading to tank failure. Some key performance indicators (KPIs) were defined and calculated allowing a quick evaluation of the performance of defective coatings.