Rapid phase transition or RPT is a phenomenon realized in
liquefied natural gas (LNG) incidents in which LNG vaporizes violently upon coming in contact with
water causing what is known as a ''physical explosion''
or ''cold explosion''.
Lng Hazard AP
/ref> During such explosions there is no combustion but rather a huge amount of energy is transferred in the form of heat from the room-temperature water to the LNG at a temperature difference of about .
LNG Properties
Liquefied natural gas or LNG is a natural gas that gets liquefied at atmospheric pressure and −161.5 °C. It is odorless, tasteless
Nicolas Plott (born August 11, 1984), known by his alias Tasteless, is an American esports commentator. He moved to Seoul, Korea in 2007 to give commentary to e-sports competitions. He has provided commentary for multiple ''Starcraft'' and '' S ...
, colorless, and not poisonous but causes asphyxia. It can cause frostbite due to its cryogenic
In physics, cryogenics is the production and behaviour of materials at very low temperatures.
The 13th IIR International Congress of Refrigeration (held in Washington DC in 1971) endorsed a universal definition of “cryogenics” and “cr ...
temperature. If this extremely cold LNG is mixed with water(e.g. sea water
Seawater, or salt water, is water from a sea or ocean. On average, seawater in the world's oceans has a salinity of about 3.5% (35 g/L, 35 ppt, 600 mM). This means that every kilogram (roughly one liter by volume) of seawater has approx ...
, which has an average temperature of 15 °C), heat energy is transferred from the water to the LNG, rapidly vaporizing it from its liquefied state back into its original gaseous state. This results in an explosion because the volume occupied by natural gas in its gaseous form is 600 times greater than when its liquefied. This is the phenomenon of rapid phase transition.
See also
* Dry ice bomb
* BLEVE
* Explosive boiling or phase explosion
External links
Latest developments in rapid-phase-transition modeling
References
Phase transitions
Explosions
Liquefied natural gas
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