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Fires and Explosions
Fire Caused by Leaking Fuel Lines
BEAR has extensive experience performing mechanical related fire analysis. One example is the van fire shown on the left. In this case, we determined definitively that the fuel lines leading to the fuel injectors had been leaking.
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Propane Powered Pickup
The propane powered pickup truck shown on the right was involved in a head-on collision in which the driver was severely burned. BEAR engineers found that, unfortunately, in this case, all the piping attachments were located on the front (cab side) of the propane tank and were broken off during the crash as the tank pushed through the back window of the cab. BEAR's investigation showed that other trucks that had the tank piping attached to the bed side of the tank fared much better in similar crashes. |
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Water Heater Fires
Water heater fires are most commonly caused by combustible material that has been stacked next to the water heater. Newspapers, paper bags, and cardboard are typical of the materials found in these cases. Less common, are the fires caused by leaking supply lines, blocked flues, clogged orifices, and faulty control valves.
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Barbecues
Investigations of barbecue fires at BEAR indicate two common sources: (1) the hose from the tank to the barbecue fails due to wear and tear or abuse; the escaping propane then ignites via the barbecue flames, and (2) the barbecue propane tank is overfilled. Overfilling the tank to greater than 85% liquid propane will result in an overpressure if the tank is exposed to hot weather (liquid propane thermally expands more than the steel tank). The overpressure causes a propane release through the tank pressure relief valve. The 15% vapor space in the tank is a reserve for the liquid to expand without overpressurizing the tank.
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 The Gimp
 LinuxOS
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Copyright 2003 Berkeley Engineering and Research Incorporated
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