Fire walls / design in plant

[jamesbanda]

Dear sirs,

We are looking at our design codes and finding a seperation distance requires us to deluge a tank ~15 meters of flammable plant. Due to layout issues the management of the run off water causes issues and secondary containment design. so..
one concept we are evaluating is the consideration for a fire wall (clearly to discuss/ confirm with local codes/insurers etc.) but i'd like some feedback on the use of them in plants.
are the concrete or can steel be acceptable.. ive seen solid floor from steel act as a fire barrier for say air cooled condensers.. but dont know if it applies to fire walls.

 

[Chance17]

I have never seen an outdoor Firewall for a tank.
The Firewall is mostly an inside barrier.

The main methods of tank Fire protection is drainage of liquids
(no pool fire) and exterior insulation.

 

[MJCronin]

james...

One application where outdoor fire walls are used to prevent the spreading of a fire is in the protection of Main Transformers at power plants.

Usually, you will find a three sided design used to protect the turbine buiding from a fire generated by the transformer.

The transformer is also usually placed above a pit where transformer oils can drain, should there be an accident

http://www.dnainfo.com/20110302/low.../fire-breaks-out-at-con-ed-plant-east-village

http://www.eng-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=197679&page=1

 

[RODesigner]

It depends on the type of the luquid being stroed in the tank. You can get general idea on fire wall / barriers in NFPA standards. If you are looking for the hydrocarbon storage tanks then refer to API codes.


POwer and Water Engg

 

[Jmoore1]

In some plants, firewalls are made in situ with water. They have very very high capacity firehouses (90000 gpm) strategically placed around an area that literally create a wall of water to knock down fires.