UNIVERSITY OF ZAKHO

Faculty of Engineering
School of Petroleum Engineering

Practical Petroleum Properties Lab.

2nd Year Level

Name of student: Diar Ismail Mohammed

Stage: 2nd stage
Class: A
Name of Experiment: Determination of Flash and Fire Point
by Cleveland open Cup Tester (for light fractions)
No. of Experiment: 5
Experiment date: 10 .1.2016
Date of submitting: 18 .1.2016

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 Experiment No. 5
Determination of Flash and Fire Point by Cleveland open Cup
Tester (for light fractions)
1. Objective:
To determine flash point of an oil product using open cup method (Cleveland
open cup apparatus

2. Introduction:

This International Standard specifies a procedure for the determination of flash and
fire points of petroleum products using the Cleveland open cup apparatus. It is
applicable to petroleum products having an open cup flash point above 79 °C,
except fuel oils, which are most commonly tested by the closed cup procedure.

Flash point and fire point are indications of the ability of a substance to form a
flammable mixture with air under controlled conditions, and then to support
combustion.

Flash Point: - Flash point of an oil is the lowest temperature at which the oil
gives sufficient amount of vapour and gives a momentary flash when a test flame brought
near it.
Fire point: Fire point is the lowest temperature at which the oil gives sufficient
amount of vapour and burns continuously when a test flame brought near it. This
apparatus is used to determine the flash and fire point of an oil, if the fire point is less
than 70°c

The flash point is a general indication of the flammability or combustibility of a

liquid. Below the flash point, insufficient vapour is available to support
combustion.

At some temperature above the flash point, the liquid will produce enough vapour
to support combustion. (This temperature is known as the fire point. Flash points
are measured by heating a liquid to specific temperatures under controlled
conditions and then applying a flame. The test is done in either an “open cup” or a
“closed cup” apparatus, or in both,7The fire point is defined as the lowest fuel
temperature at which the diffusion flame is sustained longer than 5 s above the fuel
pool without any external heat supply. The fire point for engine oils is usually 20-
30 higher than flash point. A fire point happens when an ignition source is applied
and the heat produced is self-sustaining, as it supplies enough vapors to combine
with air and burn even after the removal of the ignition source.

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 There are two ways to measure the flash and fire point, open cup or closed cup
experiments. Both methods involve heating the sample in a small cup and inserting
an ignitor into the vapor.

1-Open cup:

The open-cup test was initially developed to assess the

potential hazards of liquid spillage. An ignition source is
passed horizontally over the surface of the liquid, while the cup
and liquid are being heated, to test if the vapors ‘flash’. If the
test is repeated at increasing test specimen temperatures a point
may be reached at which the specimen continues to burn
without further application of the ignition source, this is the
Fig. 1 ( Cleveland open fire point.
Cup Tester)

1- Closed cup: The closed-cup test contains any vapors

produced and essentially simulates the situation in which a
potential source of ignition is accidentally introduced into a
container. In this test a test specimen is introduced into a cup
and a close-fitting lid is fitted to the top of the cup. The cup and
test specimen is heated. Subsequently, apertures are opened in
the lid to allow air into the cup and the ignition source to be
dipped into the vapors to test for a flash.
Fig.2 ( Cleveland closed
Cup Tester)

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3. Apparatus and Materials:
Cleveland open Cup Teste:
Cleveland open cup is used to
determine the flash and fire point of
all petroleum products. It consists of
a cup contains oil is heated by an
electrical heater. Power to the heater
is regulated
Sample (kerosene and Gas oil)
Fig.3 ( Cleveland open Cup Tester)

4. Procedure:
1.Clean the cup (75 ml specimen) and fill the oil to be tested up to the mark.
2. Put it to the Cleveland tester tool.
3. Supply the electrical supply through a
regular so that temperature of oil increases
slowly. With a test flame, vapor above the
cup is tested at an interval of 2°c rise of oil
temperature. Note down whether flash
occurs or not. Note down the flash pint.
4.After getting the flash point continue to
heat the oil and vapor is tested at an interval of 2°c until fire point noticed 
Note down the fire
point.

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 5. Calculations:
Test sample Flash point, ℃ Fire point, ℃
Kerosene 62 64
diesel 66 68

6. Discussion:
Flash point less then 23oC is dangerous and highly inflammable. The safe value
is greater than 60oC. • Cleveland open cup tester used for volatile oils having
flash point > 50oC. • Flash point give the idea about the volatility of fuel and the
explosion hazard. • Fire point is the lowest temperature at which vapours given
off by oil, ignite and continue to burn for at-least five seconds, when flame is
applied. • Fire point is 5 – 40oC higher than flash point and is measured in same
apparatus used for determination of flash point.

The typical flash point of the two samples that we used in the lab was

Diesel fuel flash points vary between 52 and 96 °C (126 and 205 °F).

The flash point of kerosene is between 37 and 65 °C (100 and 150 °F).
1) What are the factors affecting the flash point and fire point?
1. Frequency of application of test frame
2. Rate of heating 3. Rate of stirring
4. Size of test flame
5. Time of opening the shutter.)
More factors:

 pressure – The flash point temperature increases with increasing pressure

and decreases with decreasing pressure.
 Others - Tester configuration, sample size, ignition source, temperature
control, sample homogeneity, drafts, and operator bias.

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2) Different between flash and fire point

Every flammable liquid has a vapor pressure that increases with an increase in
temperature.

The lowest temperature at which there is enough concentration of vapors in air to

ignite the liquid is called its flash point. However, vapors cease to burn if the
source of ignition is removed.

Fire point is slightly higher temperature at which these vapors continue to

propagate and burn after removal of source of ignition

In general fire point is taken to be 10 degrees higher than flash point of

flammable liquids.
3) What is the difference between open cup and closed cup tester?
The difference between the two methods is that that the cup is covered in the
Closed Cup test which prevents any vapor from dissipating to the air.
Open Cup Flash Points Measuring a flash point using an open cup method is, as
the name suggests, conducted in a vessel which is exposed to the air outside. The
temperature of the substance is gradually raised and an ignition source is passed
over the top of it, until it reaches a point at which it “flashes” and ignites. The
flash point here will vary according to the distance between the substance and the
ignition source – the height of the source above the cup.
The most commonly-used open cup method is known as the Cleveland open cup
(COC).

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References:

http://www.slideshare.net/ThanmayJS/ec-lab-manual
http://www.petro-online.com/news/analytical-
instrumentation/11/breaking_news/open_and_closed_cup_flash_point_what_is_the_difference/
30654/

http://blog.anton-paar.com/a-guide-to-flash-and-fire-point-measurement/
http://www.differencebetween.com/difference-between-flash-point-and-vs-fire-
point/

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