Experimental research on the two-phase explosive boiling mechanism of superheated liquid under different leakage conditions

•The influence of weak link position and crack diameter on rapid boiling are investigated.•Gas phase leakage is not a necessary condition for pressure rebound in tank.•The concept of critical liquid level difference is put forward.•The effect of initial pressure and crack diameter on critical liquid level difference are revealed. In this study, a 17 L cube vessel was designed to simulate the explosive boiling of high-pressure liquefied gas after the leakage of the storage tank. The influence of leakage conditions such as crack position, crack diameter, and initial liquid fill level were investigated. Results indicate that when the crack is at the gas phase and gas-liquid interface, the rapid boiling of the liquid is caused by the leakage and significant pressure rebound is occurred. What’s more, cracks located under the gas-liquid phase may also cause a significant rebound in pressure. As the crack diameter increases, the two-phase flow boiling intensity first increases and then decreases, and it reaches the maximum when the diameter is 30 mm. Furthermore, a concept of the critical liquid level difference was proposed, and its influencing factors were studied. Under the experimental conditions in this article, BLEVE will not occur if the height between the liquid level and the crack is above the critical liquid level difference.