Development and Characterization of Thermal Protection Gels for Steel Pipelines Transporting Combustible Materials
Due to low costs, pipelines are commonly used for transporting hazardous substances such as combustible liquids and gasses. Currently, chemical industrial parks and gas production stations have dense pipeline networks. In the case of a pipeline leakage and subsequent fire accident, the adjacent pipe...
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MDPI AG
2024-10-01
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| Series: | Fire |
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| author | Jing Li Jianhua Gong Jun Shen Kege Yang Longhua Tan Haoyuan Li Jinlong Zhao |
| author_facet | Jing Li Jianhua Gong Jun Shen Kege Yang Longhua Tan Haoyuan Li Jinlong Zhao |
| author_sort | Jing Li |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Due to low costs, pipelines are commonly used for transporting hazardous substances such as combustible liquids and gasses. Currently, chemical industrial parks and gas production stations have dense pipeline networks. In the case of a pipeline leakage and subsequent fire accident, the adjacent pipelines could be directly impinged by the flame or engulfed in hot smoke, with the potential to result in a chain of accidents and catastrophic consequences. It is thus of practical importance to develop an efficient thermal protection material for pipelines. In this study, a new type of bio-based gel material was prepared for pipeline thermal protection, using guar gum (GG) as the gelling agent, sodium tetraborate (B) as the crosslinking agent and magnesium chloride (MgCl<sub>2</sub>) as the fire retardant. Firstly, orthogonal experiments were conducted to examine the gelling time of the gel and determine the optimal formulations that meet the protection requirements. Subsequently, water retention, thermal stability and the microstructure of these formulations were analyzed. Finally, the thermal protection performance of the gel formulations was evaluated under the direct impingement of flames or high-temperature smoke. The results indicated that the best performance was achieved by the formulation with GG, B and MgCl<sub>2</sub> mass fractions of 2.5, 0.6 and 0.5 wt%, respectively. This formulation also exhibited the best water retention capacity and thermal stability. In the pipeline thermal protection experiments, this formulation achieved effective protection times of 216 s (for a 90 mm diameter) and 312 s (for a 120 mm diameter) for the lower part of the pipeline under direct flame impingement. Under high-temperature smoke impingement, this formulation also showed excellent performance. These research and findings can provide an important foundation for the further development of thermal protection materials for pipelines under fire conditions. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-83ff4109929c49249c8b9804094c5ce4 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2571-6255 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Fire |
| spelling | doaj-art-83ff4109929c49249c8b9804094c5ce42025-08-20T01:53:41ZengMDPI AGFire2571-62552024-10-0171138210.3390/fire7110382Development and Characterization of Thermal Protection Gels for Steel Pipelines Transporting Combustible MaterialsJing Li0Jianhua Gong1Jun Shen2Kege Yang3Longhua Tan4Haoyuan Li5Jinlong Zhao6Safety Environment & Technology Supervision Research Institute, Petrochina Southwest Oil & Gasfield Company, Chengdu 610094, ChinaPetrochina Southwest Oil & Gasfield Company, Chengdu 610051, ChinaSafety Environment & Technology Supervision Research Institute, Petrochina Southwest Oil & Gasfield Company, Chengdu 610094, ChinaPetrochina Southwest Oil & Gasfield Company, Chengdu 610051, ChinaPetrochina Southwest Oil & Gasfield Company, Chengdu 610051, ChinaSchool of Emergency Management & Safety Engineering, China University of Mining & Technology (Beijing), Beijing 100083, ChinaSchool of Emergency Management & Safety Engineering, China University of Mining & Technology (Beijing), Beijing 100083, ChinaDue to low costs, pipelines are commonly used for transporting hazardous substances such as combustible liquids and gasses. Currently, chemical industrial parks and gas production stations have dense pipeline networks. In the case of a pipeline leakage and subsequent fire accident, the adjacent pipelines could be directly impinged by the flame or engulfed in hot smoke, with the potential to result in a chain of accidents and catastrophic consequences. It is thus of practical importance to develop an efficient thermal protection material for pipelines. In this study, a new type of bio-based gel material was prepared for pipeline thermal protection, using guar gum (GG) as the gelling agent, sodium tetraborate (B) as the crosslinking agent and magnesium chloride (MgCl<sub>2</sub>) as the fire retardant. Firstly, orthogonal experiments were conducted to examine the gelling time of the gel and determine the optimal formulations that meet the protection requirements. Subsequently, water retention, thermal stability and the microstructure of these formulations were analyzed. Finally, the thermal protection performance of the gel formulations was evaluated under the direct impingement of flames or high-temperature smoke. The results indicated that the best performance was achieved by the formulation with GG, B and MgCl<sub>2</sub> mass fractions of 2.5, 0.6 and 0.5 wt%, respectively. This formulation also exhibited the best water retention capacity and thermal stability. In the pipeline thermal protection experiments, this formulation achieved effective protection times of 216 s (for a 90 mm diameter) and 312 s (for a 120 mm diameter) for the lower part of the pipeline under direct flame impingement. Under high-temperature smoke impingement, this formulation also showed excellent performance. These research and findings can provide an important foundation for the further development of thermal protection materials for pipelines under fire conditions.https://www.mdpi.com/2571-6255/7/11/382pipeline transportationthermal protection gelgelling timewater retention capacityeffective thermal protection time |
| spellingShingle | Jing Li Jianhua Gong Jun Shen Kege Yang Longhua Tan Haoyuan Li Jinlong Zhao Development and Characterization of Thermal Protection Gels for Steel Pipelines Transporting Combustible Materials Fire pipeline transportation thermal protection gel gelling time water retention capacity effective thermal protection time |
| title | Development and Characterization of Thermal Protection Gels for Steel Pipelines Transporting Combustible Materials |
| title_full | Development and Characterization of Thermal Protection Gels for Steel Pipelines Transporting Combustible Materials |
| title_fullStr | Development and Characterization of Thermal Protection Gels for Steel Pipelines Transporting Combustible Materials |
| title_full_unstemmed | Development and Characterization of Thermal Protection Gels for Steel Pipelines Transporting Combustible Materials |
| title_short | Development and Characterization of Thermal Protection Gels for Steel Pipelines Transporting Combustible Materials |
| title_sort | development and characterization of thermal protection gels for steel pipelines transporting combustible materials |
| topic | pipeline transportation thermal protection gel gelling time water retention capacity effective thermal protection time |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2571-6255/7/11/382 |
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