An advanced model for spreading and evaporation of accidentally released hazardous liquids on land

Pool evaporation modelling is an important element in consequence assessment of accidentally released hazardous liquids. The evaporation rate determines the amount of toxic or flammable gas released into the atmosphere and is an important factor for the size of a pool fire. In this paper a completely integrated model is described for spreading-and-evaporating pools on land. The model considers boiling as well as non-boiling liquids and enables smooth transitions between boiling and non-boiling conditions. The liquid, which is spilled from a tank or leaked from a pipe line into the pool, can be either instantaneously or continuously released. The model results are evaporation rate, pool size and pool temperature as a function of time. The spreading of the liquid is considered until a minimum layer thickness is reached or until the border of a bund is reached. The model is verified by comparison to other pool evaporation models. © 2009 Taylor & Francis Group.