LNG pool fire spectral data and calculation of emissive power

Spectral description of thermal emission from fires provides a fundamental basis on which the fire thermal radiation hazard assessment models can be developed. Several field experiments were conducted during the 1970s and 1980s to measure the thermal radiation field surrounding LNG fires. Most of these tests involved the measurement of fire thermal radiation to objects outside the fire envelope using either narrow-angle or wide-angle radiometers. Extrapolating the wide-angle radiometer data without understanding the nature of fire emission is prone to errors. Spectral emissions from LNG fires have been recorded in four test series conducted with LNG fires on different substrates and of different diameters. These include the AGA test series of LNG fires on land of diameters 1.8 and 6m, 35 m diameter fire on an insulated concrete dike in the Montoir tests conducted by Gaz de France, a 1976 test with 13 m diameter and the 1980 tests with 10 m diameter LNG fire on water carried out at China Lake, CA. The spectral data from the Montoir test series have not been published in technical journals; only recently has some data from this series have become available. This paper presents the details of the LNG fire spectral data from, primarily, the China Lake test series, their analysis and results. Available data from other test series are also discussed. China Lake data indicate that the thermal radiation emission from 13 m diameter LNG fire is made up of band emissions of about 50% of energy by water vapor (band emission), about 25% by carbon dioxide and the remainder constituting the continuum emission by luminous soot. The emissions from the H2O and CO2 bands are completely absorbed by the intervening atmosphere in less than about 200 m from the fire, even in the relatively dry desert air. The effective soot radiation constitutes only about 23% during the burning period of methane and increases slightly when other higher hydrocarbon species (ethane, propane, etc.) are burning in the LNG fire. The paper discusses the procedure by which the fire spectral data are used to predict the thermal emission from large LNG fires. Unfortunately, no direct measurements of the soot density or smoke characteristics were made in the tests. These parameters have significant effect on the thermal emission from large LNG fires.