Application of global sensitivity analysis to FDS simulations of large LNG fire plumes

In 2009, a series of experiments were conducted by Sandia National Laboratories at a large-scale test complex in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in which Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) was released onto the surface of a large pool of water and then ignited. These experiments involved the largest releases of LNG ever performed, with the spills covering a circular area up to 83 m in diameter. In the test with the largest LNG release rate, unexpected behaviour was observed. The flames did not cover the entire area of the LNG spill, but were instead limited to a smaller region, around 50 m in diameter. The height of the flames was also greater than expected from previous large-scale tests.