Tank farms are used for the storage of highly flammable and explosive substances; Consequently, preventive fire safety is of main importance. When rehabilitation of such a tank farm is deliberate, contractors usually advocate intensive – and thus expensive – measures. A fire-protection resolution developed by TÜV SÜD demonstrates that an equivalent stage of safety may additionally be reached with a far more cost-effective answer. A central position in injury limitation is performed by early fireplace detection utilizing thermographic cameras.
Numerous tank farms throughout Germany retailer petrol, diesel, kerosene or liquefied petroleum gasoline (LPG). In contact with air, these highly flammable substances can form explosive mixtures. Given this, tank farms require particular measures in the subject of preventive hearth protection. If rehabilitation of fire-protection techniques turns into necessary at an older tank farm, far-reaching measures must be taken, not solely by the use of precaution but in addition to exclude attainable liability dangers. And but not every measure that is technologically possible is also essential in case of a rehabilitation, as can be seen from the instance of a tank farm in Bavaria, Germany.
The tank farm is located at a basin of a river port in Bavaria. The a half of the tank farm in need of rehabilitation covers 24 tanks with a storage volume of between 600 and a pair of,000 cubic metres. The tank farm is used for intermediate storage of extremely flammable fluids with flame points of < 21 degrees Celsius, as outlined in the German hazardous substances legislation. In fire inspections and on-site inspections after incidents, the inspectors had recognized main non-conformities in the fire-extinguishing system. To replace the outdated and non-conforming system, an engineering firm submitted an intensive record of measures. These measures absolutely happy all regulatory necessities however represented a very cost-intensive solution, requiring a full rehabilitation utilizing conventional extinguishing systems. For the tank-farm working company, the costs of implementing these measures would have added up to 1.7 million euros.
In hearth safety, the problem lies in connecting well-founded technological knowledge and legal know-how. In follow this means harmonising cheap engineering companies and authorized purposes to acquire a cohesive, economically possible and simply applied fire-protection concept.
Alternative resolution developed by TÜV SÜD
At the operating company’s request, TÜV SÜD’s third-party consultants validated the person measures and the cost-effectiveness of the rehabilitation plan submitted by the engineering agency. Owing to the large variety of deficiencies identified within the tank farm, the specialists first prepared a list of priorities with the measures necessary to fulfil the protection necessities and obtain the protection objectives. They arrived at the conclusion that not all of the proposed measures truly wanted to be implemented. Starting from this discovering, they then drew up an alternative fire-protection concept that might ultimately reduce the projected costs by one third.
TÜV SÜD’s rehabilitation plan included the fire-protection infrastructure already in place on the tank farm, similar to a non-automatic foam extinguishing system with a total foaming-agent provide of 10,500 litres distributed throughout two tanks, two submerged pumps in the port basin with a pump capability of a hundred and eighty m3 per hour to ensure water provide for fire fighting and sprinkling the shells and the roofs of the tanks, handbook triggering of the shut-off valves and a transformer station powered by the regional power provider. The feed-in of emergency energy was effected by the local professional hearth division.
The engineering firm, by contrast, had deliberate to replace the entire fire-extinguishing system. They wanted to install three cellular extinguishing-agent distribution systems in container type for distant controlled sprinkling and foaming of the tanks. This solution would have required the installation of new electrical, operational and control techniques as nicely as new pipe routes connecting the extinguishing-agent distribution systems with the fire-fighting systems within the tank fields. The costs for the three extinguishing-agent distribution systems in container type alone would have added up to around 1.2 million euros.
Incipient fire combating situation with intact power supply and free entry to the tank farm.
Implementation of three packages of measures
The alternative rehabilitation concept developed by TÜV SÜD, which additionally met the requirements of the Bavarian Building Code (BayBo [1]), supplied for three essential packages of measures to achieve the protection and safety goals.
First, installation of a fully automated infrared measuring system made by DIAS Infrared to ensure early fire detection. The system’s seven thermographic cameras are put in on pan-tilt models. They detect modifications in temperature on the surfaces of the tanks made of various materials and positioned in the space monitored by the cameras, earlier than these adjustments in temperature could cause a fire. As the cameras can move, the areas to be monitored can be divided into sectors. The cameras then strategy these sectors cyclically in sequence. To protect the cameras in opposition to external influences, they’re housed in ventilated and heated weatherproof enclosures (Fig. 1). Monitoring focuses totally on the safety devices of the tanks, pumps and motors and on the filling methods on the tank-farm premises. The management room on the tank farm and the native professional fireplace department are notified immediately as soon as the temperature exceeds a sure restrict. The measure package deal also consists of remote triggering of the extinguishing-agent supply from the management centre and automation of the safety devices.
Incipient fire fighting state of affairs with energy loss the place entry to the tank farm is blocked by a cargo prepare.
In addition, it covers rehabilitation of the sprinkler and foam-extinguisher system. In this context, TÜV SÜD’s resolution offered for alternative of the leaking and corroded pipe sections with new pipes and for set up of three fixed foam-extinguishing methods in the type of foam screens to battle incipient fires directly. In addition, a cell foam monitor was deliberate as a backup.
A third focus space concerns safeguarding the facility provide required for early fireplace detection and fire combating. According to the regional vitality supplier, power outages could have a period of no much less than 30 minutes. Given this, the tank-farm wanted an independent power supply system that was ready to make sure energy supply for a minimum of 2 hours. The consultants relied on battery buffering and a diesel operated emergency power unit to unravel this drawback.
Fire protection must ensure achievement of the safety aims
Protection objectives and equal security degree reached
The fire-protection answer offered by TÜV SÜD was agreed with each the tank farm’s working company, the municipal authority and the professional fire division. The three measure packages also complied with the required protection aims and the security levels. And in the end, they proved far cheaper than the solution initially proposed. Since rehabilitation of the tank farm, early hearth detection in conjunction with improved fire-protection infrastructure has turn out to be a central part of harm limitation. Since the rehabilitation idea was implemented, the tank-farm’s operating company – working with the professional fire department – has been in a place to successfully counteract all attainable scenarios of incipient fireplace effectively and at an early stage, even in cases of energy loss or when entry to the tank farm is blocked (see Figures 2 and 3).
For more info, go to www.tuev-sued.de/is or www.dias-infrared.de
Classification underneath the Bavarian Building Code (Bayerische Bauordnung, BayBo)
Tank farms are installations of a particular sort and use (special structures). Their operation entails the handling and storing of extremely explosive or flammable substances. Protection measures and safety precautions thus not solely fall within the operating company’s duty however are also a matter of public curiosity. Given ร้านซ่อมเครื่องวัดความดันโลหิต , the BayBO stipulates requirements including material necessities which, as “General clauses of fire protection”, assist to help the safety goals outlined in Article 12. However, in accordance with article 3 (1) deviations from the technical constructing rules are possible if another solution is found that’s equal when it comes to fulfilling the final necessities in paragraph 1. In other phrases, the requirements laid down within the Building Code are deemed complied with if the commonly recognised guidelines of structure and know-how are fulfilled.
Share