BLEVE prevention

We have discussed at length the causes of a BLEVE, which, it should be remembered, are due to the total rupture of a reservoir. This total rupture can occur in one of three ways:

• via spontaneous cracking due to reservoir embrittlement ;

• following explosive vaporization triggered by the pressure drop of a liquid at a temperature close to or higher than its superheat limit temperature;

• pressure in the reservoir and maintaining this pressure at values significantly higher than the pressure at which the initial crack appeared.

Everyone will agree that the most fearsome BLEVEs occur when a high-strength tank undergoes a...