Abstract
Electrostatic ignition hazards may occur during the loading of road
tankers with hydrocarbon fuels. The hazards arise when the charge
density in the liquid entering the tank (the inlet charge density)
exceeds a critical threshold that depends on the loading conditions.
In this paper, the first in a series of three, both the inlet charge
densities that occur in commercial filling operations and the threshold
values for the relevant conditions are determined. The charge densities
and thresholds are established by combining critical reviews of the
existing measurements with the results of some hitherto unreported
work. The thresholds obtained at different laboratories agree to
within plus-minus 20\%. The maximum inlet charge densities are
less than half the thresholds. The new inlet charge density measurements
that are presented here provide sufficient data for a statistical
analysis of the risk of exceeding the threshold in a commercial loading
operation. This analysis is described in the second paper of the
series. The third paper examines how the risks are influenced by
a variety of precautions and practices including the use of anti-static
additives, reduced or increased filling velocity, slow starts and
splash-loading.
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