Liquids - h3010v10041

DOE-HDBK-3010-94

3 .0 L IQ U ID S

In order for a liquid to be made airborne, in most realistic situations, the bulk liquid must be

subdivided into particles/droplets small enough to be entrained in the local airflow. In some

cases, it may be possible for the activity coefficient of the solute to be adequately reduced so

that some material may be made airborne by vaporization.

This section describes mechanisms by which two types of liquids (aqueous solutions and

organic, combustible solvents) become airborne; the descriptions are based on experiments.

The mechanisms discussed for aqueous solutions include thermal stress, explosive release

(i.e., shock, blast, and pressurized venting effects), free-fall spills, and aerodynamic

entrainment (resuspension). Organic liquids are specifically discussed in relation to thermal

effects.

3.1

SUM M ARY O F ANALYSIS O F DATA

A q u eou s S olu tion s

Thermal Stress

Heating of aqueous solution in flowing air without surface rupture of bubbles.

For the airborne release of bulk liquid during heating of aqueous solutions in

flowing air without noticeable bubbles breaking on the surface of the bulk

liquid, conservative values are based upon the experimental data available.

Median

ARF 6E-7/RF 1.0

Bounding

ARF 3E-5/RF 1.0

Boiling (bubbles continuously breaking the surface of the bulk liquid with

<30% of the volume of the liquid as bubbles) of aqueous solutions in flowing

air. A bounding ARF for the airborne release from the bubble-burst at the

surface for aqueous solutions exceeds all measured values. In the absence of a

measured size distribution for the airborne droplets, a conservative value of

1.0 is assumed for the RF bound.

Median

ARF 1E-3/RF 1.0

Bounding

ARF 2E-3/RF 1.0

Page 3-1