8. Glossary

Boil-over; boil-over

A classic boil-over is a sudden foaming phenomenon involving atmospheric tanks, resulting from the transformation of liquid water contained in a burning tank into steam (water bed, free water, emulsion). This phenomenon is responsible for violent splashing of fuel, boiling of the tank contents, spreading of the flames and formation of a fireball.

thin layer boil-over; boil over en couche mince

The phenomenon of thin-film boil-over is similar to that of conventional boil-over in that it leads to the sudden evaporation of a layer of water at the bottom of the tank. In thin-film boil-over, on the other hand, the product is consumed during the tank fire, without any distillation taking place; there is no heat wave formation. The cause of vaporization of the water layer is then the flame front itself,...