Impact radius of light oil pipeline leakage under different operating conditions

Abstract

Abstract This study investigated the impact range of pipeline leaks for light oil pipelines under different operating conditions. Three different calculation methods were employed to study the influence of various factors, including obstacle height, wind speed, leak hole diameter, and slope, on the leak impact range of flowing fires, pool fires, and overpressure waves. The results indicate that the impact range decreases as the height of obstacles increases. The most significant decrease occurs when obstacles are 2 meters high, and further increasing the obstacle height leads to a less pronounced decrease. Wind speed has a complex influence on the impact range. For flowing fires, the impact range initially increases and then decreases with higher wind speeds. For pool fires, a higher wind speed leads to a larger impact range, while for overpressure waves, higher wind speeds result in a smaller impact range. Larger leak hole diameters lead to larger impact ranges for both fire radiation and overpressure waves. Increasing the environmental slope has a slight effect on the impact range. Sensitivity analysis indicates that wind speed has the most significant impact, followed by leak hole diameter, while the environmental slope has the least influence on the impact range.