Valdez scale Russian storage tank failure 3

[1503-44]

150,000 BBL (+/-) diesel tank failure linked to thawing of permafrost.

“What I told you was true ... from a certain point of view.” - Obi-Wan Kenobi, "Return of the Jedi"

 

[1503-44]

Frost heave force discussion

https://www.eng-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=469881&action=updated

“What I told you was true ... from a certain point of view.” - Obi-Wan Kenobi, "Return of the Jedi"

 

[FacEngrPE]

This citylab article states "In Norilsk, the largest city built on permafrost, about 60 percent of buildings have been damaged by permafrost thaw, and 10 percent of the houses in the city have been abandoned."

https://www.citylab.com/environment...ave-arctic-cities-as-permafrost-melts/559307/

so whatever was used as criteria for building on permafrost when the city was built, is not working today.

Even if we discount climate change, building on permafrost has always required paying attention to long term heat balance, which can include things like heavy insulation between the building floor and the ground and thermosyphons (heat pipes).

https://www.akbizmag.com/industry/architecture/building-on-permafrost/

One of the points in akbizmag is that melting of permafrost not only results in volume change, after melting the structural properties can be anything from bedrock to soft mud.
Fred

 

[bimr]

Now the reporting is stating that there was corrosion in the failed tank bottom.

"Fuel storage Tank 5 failed through holes in the tank bottom, caused by the formation of ulcerative corrosion. In 2014 the company had been ordered by the Russian regulatory agency for natural resources Rostekhnadzor to, by 2015, clean the outer surface of the walls and roof of the tanks from rust and restore the anticorrosion coating, and by October 2016, to conduct non-destructive inspection of the tank bottoms. Despite these requests from the Russian Government, Norilsk-Taimyr Energy did not take the requested steps to avoid a failure of Tank 5."

Oil Spill

Interesting city as a former gulag. Some prisoners in the gulag were so desperate that they cut off their own hands so that they could no longer work. After the death of Stalin in 1953, gulag uprisings began immediately. In 1956, the Norillag gulag was shut down but by then it is estimated that 250,000 prisoners had perished.

allthatsinteresting

 

[1503-44]

Liquid water can defeat many types of CP, and when combined with warmer temperatures both will tend to accelerate the corrosive process.

“What I told you was true ... from a certain point of view.” - Obi-Wan Kenobi, "Return of the Jedi"

 

Nothing to see here ... Global Heating is fake news.

"Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but they are not entitled to their own facts."

 

[1503-44]

Nobody mentioned anything about "global heating". The topic is the melting of permafrost under a tank. That can happen due to many factors, even from warm fuel being stored within. Frankly, and in my humble opinion, your opinions were not asked, off topic and trite. As you say, "nothing to see here", so ... on your bike.

“What I told you was true ... from a certain point of view.” - Obi-Wan Kenobi, "Return of the Jedi"

 

FYI I don't ride a bike, I rock a Hummer H3.

"Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but they are not entitled to their own facts."

 

[1503-44]

Great! Then I'm praying for high oil prices for you too.

“What I told you was true ... from a certain point of view.” - Obi-Wan Kenobi, "Return of the Jedi"

 

[RVAmeche]

This is kind of an interesting example. The tank had previous recommendations to repair a failing tank bottom, which wasn't done. Then the permafrost melted and the tank released its contents.

I feel like in America the company could likely argue the ignored repairs weren't the cause, the outside event was. Not sure about Russia.

 

[1503-44]

It is difficult to argue that something that never happened could be the cause of anything. However what did happen is typically described in court as negligence.

“What I told you was true ... from a certain point of view.” - Obi-Wan Kenobi, "Return of the Jedi"

 

[davefitz]

I wonder if the standard engineeering calculation for heat loss thru permafrost might be complicated by a change in conductivity as the permafrost melts to wet mud.It is also possible that the root cause was a lack of strong contract law and legal liability to the designers which led to their ignoring the technical issues.

"...when logic, and proportion, have fallen, sloppy dead..." Grace Slick

 

[bimr]

While the articles don't mention the type of diesel fuel, the weather is so cold there that the fuel tank must have been fitted with some type of heater. That raises questions regarding the contact with permafrost.

While Russia has building codes, there is very lax enforcement and crazy things go on. The simplest building code item is stair treads. Here, the building code requires to have uniform step heights to prevent tripping. In Russia, one would commonly find uneven steps.

When the Soviet Union collapsed, the occupants of the apartment buildings were given the apartments. For new apartments, the way it works in Russia, the apartment is bare concrete. Then you furnish the apartment with plumbing etc.
On the exterior of the apartment, the owner is allowed to construct any type of enclosure on the exterior. That makes the buildings look haphazard. Very strange.

The workmanship in Russian is also typically substandard. The manufacturing base is very small and most equipment and piping is imported.

 

Engineered disasters like this can NEVER happen in the USA, due to a complete absence of government corruption, effective regulation of industry, and uniform application of law to all people.

"Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but they are not entitled to their own facts."

 

[RVAmeche]

IM, I assume that's sarcasm since the US has it's fair share of disasters...

 

[bimr]

737 Max, Coronavirus, Miami pedestrian bridge, Flint MI, Deepwater Horizon to name some recent examples.

 

[1503-44]

Those apartments blocks look like they never heard of owner's association's architectural restrictions. I notice that one building is somewhat color coordinated in blue...ish, the other green. At least they are free to do their own thing. Looks like they're going for greenhouse effect.

It would be nice if we could blame mother nature, corruption, greedy stockholders, politics, etc. for all our disasters, but we manage doing pretty well on our own. Those mentioned, the original Valdez, and this one were all due to just plain DA, especially this one, Gas Main Explosion in Massachusetts- Update 5
thread815-466119

P.S. Never mind. I think he's just trolling us.

“What I told you was true ... from a certain point of view.” - Obi-Wan Kenobi, "Return of the Jedi"