A New simplified calculation model of geometric thermal features of a vertical propane jet fire based on experimental and computational studies

Jet fires and their consequences are one of the significant factors responsible for catastrophic events in industrial process units. In this research, various types of turbulence models were investigated to simulate a vertical propane jet fire using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). CFD was applied to evaluate the following turbulence models of k-s, SST, BSL, BSL RS and the Realizable k-epsilon (RNG k-epsilon), the Eddy Dissipation Concept (EDC) for combustion, and the Monte Carlo model for radiation. All the above-mentioned turbulence models are used for a temperature range of 1500-1700 K. The results showed that the SST turbulence model is the best option, with average error of 4.7 % for a jet fire simulation, with a lower computational time. The simulation of the jet fire shape at surface temperature of 800 K was also compared with the experimental data obtained under the same conditions. By taking into account the time parameter in the simulation, the predicted ratio of flame length and equivalent flame diameter results are in good agreement with the experimental jet fire data. (C) 2020 Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.