Thermo: Give complete written solution and picture (T6) Problem 6 A number of co

Question

Thermo: Give complete written solution and picture (T6) Problem 6 A number of commercially important gases are shipped and stored under high pressures. Some gases liquefy because the pressure is high enough to be the vapor pressure of the material at the storage pressure. Under such conditions, there will be two phases in the storage tank: a liquid phase and a vapor phase. The two phases will be very nearly in equilibrium because the storage conditions preclude large temperature gradients in the tanks. If a storage tank containing liquid under a high pressure fails, the liquid will no longer be at its vapor pressure. Instead, the pressure will be reduced and the liquid will vaporize very rapidly, usually within milliseconds of pressure reduction. As the liquid vaporizes, there is a very large volume increase. The large volume of vapor thus formed will expand rapidly, with explosive force. The phase change and expansion are so rapid that the entire process is essentially adiabatic. The blast damage can be substantial. A tank containing 100 m^3 of liquid propane is overheated during a fire and ruptures. The pressure in the tank at the time of rupture is 20 bar gauge. The resulting explosion is called a BLEVE (for Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion). Determine the amount of work done when the tank explodes. What is the equivalent explosion work in terms of kg of TNT if one kg of TNT does 1120 kcal of work in exploding?

Explanation / Answer

Gauge pressure = 20 bar.

Absolute pressure = 20+1 = 21 bar

Related Questions

Navigate

• Browse (All)
• Browse T
• Subjects

---

---

Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.