Numerical Study of Turbulent Wind Flow and Hydrocarbon Dispersion in Crude Oil Tank Farms

As a critical link connecting upstream and downstream sectors in the petrochemical industry, crude oil storage tank farms serve as vital hubs for production, transfer, and import/export operations, where safety management presents unique complexities. However, current safety regulations have failed to keep pace with the rapid development of the petrochemical sector, leading to frequent oil-gas leakage incidents. This study investigates the stress states of hydrocarbon components (both near-leakage sources and far-field) and their mixing characteristics with air under complex turbulent flow conditions. We establish a numerical model and solution algorithm capable of describing cross-scale oil-gas dispersion and cloud evolution dynamics. The model is applicable to (1)-High-speed regions near leakage sources (<300 m/s, without shockwave structures); (2)-Far-field environments where atmospheric turbulence dominates hydrogen dispersion concentration fields. Through numerical simulations studies conducted at an actual crude oil, we systematically analyze the "leakage-mixing, cloud formation, dispersion-migration, and flow-dilution" processes under various scenarios. The work quantifies the spreading range and concentration distribution of hydrocarbon clouds at different stages, providing theoretical guidance for quantitative risk assessment of oil-gas leaks in storage areas and Emergency response design.

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Publication Details

Journal
ACS Omega
Published
2025-11-11
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.5c09362
Primary Topic
Wind and Air Flow Studies
Type
article
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article

Numerical Study of Turbulent Wind Flow and Hydrocarbon Dispersion in Crude Oil Tank Farms

Anfeng Yu, Z. Zhang, Yi Liu, Yu Kang et al.
ACS Omega
Wind and Air Flow Studies
article

Numerical Study of Turbulent Wind Flow and Hydrocarbon Dispersion in Crude Oil Tank Farms

Anfeng Yu, Z. Zhang, Yi Liu, Yu Kang, Yujie Lin, Qi Cao
article en

Abstract

As a critical link connecting upstream and downstream sectors in the petrochemical industry, crude oil storage tank farms serve as vital hubs for production, transfer, and import/export operations, where safety management presents unique complexities. However, current safety regulations have failed to keep pace with the rapid development of the petrochemical sector, leading to frequent oil-gas leakage incidents. This study investigates the stress states of hydrocarbon components (both near-leakage sources and far-field) and their mixing characteristics with air under complex turbulent flow conditions. We establish a numerical model and solution algorithm capable of describing cross-scale oil-gas dispersion and cloud evolution dynamics. The model is applicable to (1)-High-speed regions near leakage sources (<300 m/s, without shockwave structures); (2)-Far-field environments where atmospheric turbulence dominates hydrogen dispersion concentration fields. Through numerical simulations studies conducted at an actual crude oil, we systematically analyze the "leakage-mixing, cloud formation, dispersion-migration, and flow-dilution" processes under various scenarios. The work quantifies the spreading range and concentration distribution of hydrocarbon clouds at different stages, providing theoretical guidance for quantitative risk assessment of oil-gas leaks in storage areas and Emergency response design.

ACS OmegaVol. 10(46)
Sinopec (China) (CN), Ministry of Education (ME), National Cancer Registration Service (GB), State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering (CN)
Openalex Percentile: Top 66%
Wind and Air Flow Studies
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