Storage tank separation distance, which considerably affects forestalling and mitigating accident consequences, is principally determined by thermal radiation modeling and meeting industry safety requirements. However, little is known about the influence of separation distance on gas dispersion or gas explosion, which are the most destructive types of accidents in industrial settings. This study evaluated the effect of separation distance on gas dispersion and vapor cloud explosion in a storage tank farm. Experiments were conducted using Flame Acceleration Simulator, an advanced computational fluid dynamics software program. Codes governing the design of separation distances in China and the United States were compared. A series of geometrical models of storage tanks with various separation distances were established. Overall, increasing separation distance led to a substantial reduction in vapor cloud volume and size in most cases. Notably, a 1.0 storage diameter separation distance appeared to be optimal. In terms of vapor cloud explosion, a greater separation distance had a marked effect on mitigating overpressure in gas explosions. Therefore, separation distance merited consideration in the design of storage tanks to prevent gas dispersion and explosion.

储罐的分隔距离（主要影响散热和减轻事故后果）主要由热辐射模型确定并满足行业安全要求。但是，人们对分隔距离对气体扩散或气体爆炸的影响知之甚少，这是工业环境中最具破坏性的事故类型。这项研究评估了分隔距离对储罐场中气体扩散和蒸气云爆炸的影响。使用先进的计算流体动力学软件程序Flame Acceleration Simulator进行了实验。比较了中美分隔距离设计规范。建立了一系列不同间距的储罐几何模型。总体，在大多数情况下，增加的分离距离会导致蒸气云的体积和大小大大减少。值得注意的是，1.0的存储直径分离距离似乎是最佳的。就蒸气云爆炸而言，更大的分离距离对缓解气体爆炸中的超压具有显著作用。因此，在设计储罐时应考虑间隔距离，以防止气体扩散和爆炸。