CFD Simulation of Temperature Field Distribution of the Liquefied Hydrocarbon Spherical Tank Leaking

Liquefied hydrocarbon is normally stored under high pressure in overheating state in the spherical tank. Once leakage occurs, the liquefied hydrocarbon will quickly gasify and absorb a great deal of heat, making temperature of spherical tank decrease sharply. In order to investigate this process, physical model was established, and the Reynolds time averaged Navier-Stokes equation and k-ɛ turbulent model as the CFD simulation method were used in this study. The temperature distribution of the spherical tank and the environment after spherical tank pipeline leaking was analyzed. The influences of leakage location and leak area on the spherical tank temperature distribution were analyzed, and a meaningful conclusion was obtained. This study could provide theoretical basis and technical support for the safety control of liquefied hydrocarbon spherical tank leakage. © 2012 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and/or peer-review (pre-review) under responsibility of the Capital University of Economics and Business, China Academy of Safety Science and Technology.