Experimental Study of Fire Damage Characteristics in a Petrochemical Plant Facility

Abstract

As a part of the initial investigation of fire damage diagnosis, fire protection-applied specimens within petrochemical plant facilities were exposed to standard and hydrocarbon fire conditions; then, the heating temperature of the specimens was monitored, and their appearance was checked by visual observation. Although data on the appearance status for discoloration, thickness variations, etc. of fire protection were collated for each set of fire exposure conditions, it was difficult to estimate the heating temperature of the specimens. Therefore, the visual observation method for determining the degree of fire damage needs to be approached somewhat conservatively. Moreover, according to the results of the heating temperature measurements for each specimen, it was confirmed that the paint has a disadvantage in maintaining its fire resistance performance when exposed to a hydrocarbon fire.