Water Requirements for Storage Tank Farm Bund Area
Water Requirements for Storage Tank Farm Bund Area
(OP)
When trying to calculate the water requirements for a storage tank farm containing Atmospheric Storage tanks how do you consider the bund area? Can you calculate just the requirements of water for the storage tanks based on the flow rates in NFPA 15 and assume that some of this water can be diverted away from the tanks (through the hydrants) and to any potential pool fire in the bund area?
The only place I have seen in NFPA 15 which may cover this would be "Flammable and Combustible Liquid Pool Fires" however I do not think this would apply to a bund area as the flow rates are very high.
The only place I have seen in NFPA 15 which may cover this would be "Flammable and Combustible Liquid Pool Fires" however I do not think this would apply to a bund area as the flow rates are very high.





RE: Water Requirements for Storage Tank Farm Bund Area
RE: Water Requirements for Storage Tank Farm Bund Area
RE: Water Requirements for Storage Tank Farm Bund Area
Tanks could be protected by NFPA 15 and NFPA 11 equipments that might use less water than other areas that require handlines or fixed monitors. If you follow NFPA 30 and all distances and dikes are OK you need very little of fire water. (One may interpret that NFPA considers that if all things are relatively safe and OK, the possibility of letting it all burn down is not out of the code, the NFPA does not obligate everyone to have a tank farm with a suppression system for a big fire, it requires only a reasonable minimum protection).
The answser is not easy followin API RP 2001, RP 2030.
If this is for a refinery or similar, in general for this RP2001, it says a "should" for duration of 4-6 hours.
If your protection is based on fixed systems the water follwing API RP 2001, RP 2030, comes from NFPA 13,15,11,etc., also you have to consider handlines, monitors you may require that may use 0.1-0.5 gpm/ft2 of protected equipment area for some recommended time that may go from 2 to 6 hrs.
As an example, for power plants, NFPA 850 asks for simutaneous water/foam fixed equipment plus 500gpm for 2 hrs. But in case of oil industry this 500gpm will not be enough.