1970 Propane vapour cloud explosion in Port Hudson
Encyclopedia
The 1970 Propane vapor cloud explosion in Port Hudson resulted from a propane
pipeline
break, which led to the formation of a large, dense vapor cloud. Upon ignition, the vapor cloud exploded with tremendous force. Both near- and far-field damage indicate that this explosion may be attributed to the detonation
of propane in air with an energy release equivalent to that from about 50 tons of detonating Trinitrotoluene(TNT). The violence of the explosion is likely unprecedented. As such, the accident is widely quoted as one of the first, if not the first, confirmed accidental occurrences of an unconfined vapor cloud deflagration
that turns into a detonation
- a so called deflagration to detonation transition
. The accident represents a "worst-possible" sort of case history for assessment of the hazards of fuel transportation.
The accident took place in Port Hudson, Franklin County, Missouri
, on December 9, 1970. The pipeline was owned by Phillips Pipeline Company.
pipeline
break, which led to the formation of a large, dense vapor cloud. Upon ignition, the vapor cloud exploded with tremendous force. Both near- and far-field damage indicate that this explosion may be attributed to the detonation
of propane in air with an energy release equivalent to that from about 50 tons of detonating Trinitrotoluene(TNT). The violence of the explosion is likely unprecedented. As such, the accident is widely quoted as one of the first, if not the first, confirmed accidental occurrences of an unconfined vapor cloud deflagration
that turns into a detonation
- a so called deflagration to detonation transition
. The accident represents a "worst-possible" sort of case history for assessment of the hazards of fuel transportation.
The accident took place in Port Hudson, Franklin County, Missouri
, on December 9, 1970. The pipeline was owned by Phillips Pipeline Company.
pipeline
break, which led to the formation of a large, dense vapor cloud. Upon ignition, the vapor cloud exploded with tremendous force. Both near- and far-field damage indicate that this explosion may be attributed to the detonation
of propane in air with an energy release equivalent to that from about 50 tons of detonating Trinitrotoluene(TNT). The violence of the explosion is likely unprecedented. As such, the accident is widely quoted as one of the first, if not the first, confirmed accidental occurrences of an unconfined vapor cloud deflagration
that turns into a detonation
- a so called deflagration to detonation transition
. The accident represents a "worst-possible" sort of case history for assessment of the hazards of fuel transportation.
The accident took place in Port Hudson, Franklin County, Missouri
, on December 9, 1970. The pipeline was owned by Phillips Pipeline Company.
Propane
Propane is a three-carbon alkane with the molecular formula , normally a gas, but compressible to a transportable liquid. A by-product of natural gas processing and petroleum refining, it is commonly used as a fuel for engines, oxy-gas torches, barbecues, portable stoves, and residential central...
pipeline
Pipeline transport
Pipeline transport is the transportation of goods through a pipe. Most commonly, liquids and gases are sent, but pneumatic tubes that transport solid capsules using compressed air are also used....
break, which led to the formation of a large, dense vapor cloud. Upon ignition, the vapor cloud exploded with tremendous force. Both near- and far-field damage indicate that this explosion may be attributed to the detonation
Detonation
Detonation involves a supersonic exothermic front accelerating through a medium that eventually drives a shock front propagating directly in front of it. Detonations are observed in both conventional solid and liquid explosives, as well as in reactive gases...
of propane in air with an energy release equivalent to that from about 50 tons of detonating Trinitrotoluene(TNT). The violence of the explosion is likely unprecedented. As such, the accident is widely quoted as one of the first, if not the first, confirmed accidental occurrences of an unconfined vapor cloud deflagration
Deflagration
Deflagration is a term describing subsonic combustion that usually propagates through thermal conductivity; hot burning material heats the next layer of cold material and ignites it. Most "fire" found in daily life, from flames to explosions, is deflagration...
that turns into a detonation
Detonation
Detonation involves a supersonic exothermic front accelerating through a medium that eventually drives a shock front propagating directly in front of it. Detonations are observed in both conventional solid and liquid explosives, as well as in reactive gases...
- a so called deflagration to detonation transition
Deflagration to detonation transition
Deflagration to detonation transition refers to a phenomenon in ignitable mixtures of a flammable gas and air when a sudden transition takes place from a deflagration type of combustion to a detonation type of combustion...
. The accident represents a "worst-possible" sort of case history for assessment of the hazards of fuel transportation.
The accident took place in Port Hudson, Franklin County, Missouri
Franklin County, Missouri
Franklin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri on the south side of the Missouri River. Franklin County is part of the St. Louis Metro Area and contains many of the St. Louis exurbs. Census 2010 put the population at 101,492; making it the 10th most populous county in Missouri....
, on December 9, 1970. The pipeline was owned by Phillips Pipeline Company.
See also
- Unconfined vapor cloud explosionUnconfined vapor cloud explosionGas explosions can generate overpressure without the presence of confining walls. This is referred to as Unconfined Vapor Cloud Explosions . If a flame travels through the unconfined gas cloud with high velocity, the gas/air mixture ahead of the flame is unable to move away quickly enough to allow...
- 2005 Hertfordshire Oil Storage Terminal fire2005 Hertfordshire Oil Storage Terminal fireThe Buncefield fire was a major conflagration caused by a series of explosions on 11 December 2005 at the Hertfordshire Oil Storage Terminal, an oil storage facility located near the M1 motorway by Hemel Hempstead in Hertfordshire, England. The terminal was the fifth largest oil-products...
(Buncefield disaster) - Ufa train disasterUfa train disasterThe Ufa train disaster was an explosion on the Kuybyshev Railway on June 4, 1989 at 1:15 in the Soviet Union, about 50 kilometers from the city of Ufa...
Sources
The 1970 Propane vapor cloud explosion in Port Hudson resulted from a propanePropane
Propane is a three-carbon alkane with the molecular formula , normally a gas, but compressible to a transportable liquid. A by-product of natural gas processing and petroleum refining, it is commonly used as a fuel for engines, oxy-gas torches, barbecues, portable stoves, and residential central...
pipeline
Pipeline transport
Pipeline transport is the transportation of goods through a pipe. Most commonly, liquids and gases are sent, but pneumatic tubes that transport solid capsules using compressed air are also used....
break, which led to the formation of a large, dense vapor cloud. Upon ignition, the vapor cloud exploded with tremendous force. Both near- and far-field damage indicate that this explosion may be attributed to the detonation
Detonation
Detonation involves a supersonic exothermic front accelerating through a medium that eventually drives a shock front propagating directly in front of it. Detonations are observed in both conventional solid and liquid explosives, as well as in reactive gases...
of propane in air with an energy release equivalent to that from about 50 tons of detonating Trinitrotoluene(TNT). The violence of the explosion is likely unprecedented. As such, the accident is widely quoted as one of the first, if not the first, confirmed accidental occurrences of an unconfined vapor cloud deflagration
Deflagration
Deflagration is a term describing subsonic combustion that usually propagates through thermal conductivity; hot burning material heats the next layer of cold material and ignites it. Most "fire" found in daily life, from flames to explosions, is deflagration...
that turns into a detonation
Detonation
Detonation involves a supersonic exothermic front accelerating through a medium that eventually drives a shock front propagating directly in front of it. Detonations are observed in both conventional solid and liquid explosives, as well as in reactive gases...
- a so called deflagration to detonation transition
Deflagration to detonation transition
Deflagration to detonation transition refers to a phenomenon in ignitable mixtures of a flammable gas and air when a sudden transition takes place from a deflagration type of combustion to a detonation type of combustion...
. The accident represents a "worst-possible" sort of case history for assessment of the hazards of fuel transportation.
The accident took place in Port Hudson, Franklin County, Missouri
Franklin County, Missouri
Franklin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri on the south side of the Missouri River. Franklin County is part of the St. Louis Metro Area and contains many of the St. Louis exurbs. Census 2010 put the population at 101,492; making it the 10th most populous county in Missouri....
, on December 9, 1970. The pipeline was owned by Phillips Pipeline Company.
See also
- Unconfined vapor cloud explosionUnconfined vapor cloud explosionGas explosions can generate overpressure without the presence of confining walls. This is referred to as Unconfined Vapor Cloud Explosions . If a flame travels through the unconfined gas cloud with high velocity, the gas/air mixture ahead of the flame is unable to move away quickly enough to allow...
- 2005 Hertfordshire Oil Storage Terminal fire2005 Hertfordshire Oil Storage Terminal fireThe Buncefield fire was a major conflagration caused by a series of explosions on 11 December 2005 at the Hertfordshire Oil Storage Terminal, an oil storage facility located near the M1 motorway by Hemel Hempstead in Hertfordshire, England. The terminal was the fifth largest oil-products...
(Buncefield disaster) - Ufa train disasterUfa train disasterThe Ufa train disaster was an explosion on the Kuybyshev Railway on June 4, 1989 at 1:15 in the Soviet Union, about 50 kilometers from the city of Ufa...
Sources
The 1970 Propane vapor cloud explosion in Port Hudson resulted from a propanePropane
Propane is a three-carbon alkane with the molecular formula , normally a gas, but compressible to a transportable liquid. A by-product of natural gas processing and petroleum refining, it is commonly used as a fuel for engines, oxy-gas torches, barbecues, portable stoves, and residential central...
pipeline
Pipeline transport
Pipeline transport is the transportation of goods through a pipe. Most commonly, liquids and gases are sent, but pneumatic tubes that transport solid capsules using compressed air are also used....
break, which led to the formation of a large, dense vapor cloud. Upon ignition, the vapor cloud exploded with tremendous force. Both near- and far-field damage indicate that this explosion may be attributed to the detonation
Detonation
Detonation involves a supersonic exothermic front accelerating through a medium that eventually drives a shock front propagating directly in front of it. Detonations are observed in both conventional solid and liquid explosives, as well as in reactive gases...
of propane in air with an energy release equivalent to that from about 50 tons of detonating Trinitrotoluene(TNT). The violence of the explosion is likely unprecedented. As such, the accident is widely quoted as one of the first, if not the first, confirmed accidental occurrences of an unconfined vapor cloud deflagration
Deflagration
Deflagration is a term describing subsonic combustion that usually propagates through thermal conductivity; hot burning material heats the next layer of cold material and ignites it. Most "fire" found in daily life, from flames to explosions, is deflagration...
that turns into a detonation
Detonation
Detonation involves a supersonic exothermic front accelerating through a medium that eventually drives a shock front propagating directly in front of it. Detonations are observed in both conventional solid and liquid explosives, as well as in reactive gases...
- a so called deflagration to detonation transition
Deflagration to detonation transition
Deflagration to detonation transition refers to a phenomenon in ignitable mixtures of a flammable gas and air when a sudden transition takes place from a deflagration type of combustion to a detonation type of combustion...
. The accident represents a "worst-possible" sort of case history for assessment of the hazards of fuel transportation.
The accident took place in Port Hudson, Franklin County, Missouri
Franklin County, Missouri
Franklin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri on the south side of the Missouri River. Franklin County is part of the St. Louis Metro Area and contains many of the St. Louis exurbs. Census 2010 put the population at 101,492; making it the 10th most populous county in Missouri....
, on December 9, 1970. The pipeline was owned by Phillips Pipeline Company.
See also
- Unconfined vapor cloud explosionUnconfined vapor cloud explosionGas explosions can generate overpressure without the presence of confining walls. This is referred to as Unconfined Vapor Cloud Explosions . If a flame travels through the unconfined gas cloud with high velocity, the gas/air mixture ahead of the flame is unable to move away quickly enough to allow...
- 2005 Hertfordshire Oil Storage Terminal fire2005 Hertfordshire Oil Storage Terminal fireThe Buncefield fire was a major conflagration caused by a series of explosions on 11 December 2005 at the Hertfordshire Oil Storage Terminal, an oil storage facility located near the M1 motorway by Hemel Hempstead in Hertfordshire, England. The terminal was the fifth largest oil-products...
(Buncefield disaster) - Ufa train disasterUfa train disasterThe Ufa train disaster was an explosion on the Kuybyshev Railway on June 4, 1989 at 1:15 in the Soviet Union, about 50 kilometers from the city of Ufa...