1 2 THE FI LLI NG-OUT OF COMBUSTI BLE FLUI DS ONBOARD SPECI FI ED SHI PS Gheorghe SAMOILESCU, Alina BARBU, Mircea CONSTANTINESCU, Vergil GRADINARU "Mircea cel Batran" NAVAL ACADEMY – Constanta, ROMANIA ABSTRACT: Loading filling out and unloading operations of oil products can result in electric storage that can be turned into electric discharges. This paper focuses on the conditions to be taken into account for the crew, ship and environment safety, in the case of combustible fluids onboard specialized ships considering the plusical and chemical phenomena that acher. Specific measures against electric discharges can be taken if the occurrence and evolution of electric load in the lines and compartments of the ship are known. An analysis is made on the methods of electric loading of oil products, the role of the water in the oil emulsion, the role of inversion, the need for the implementation of normsand recommendations within the Romanian Ship Register. Based on the charts showing combustible fluids loading during the transportation, through lines according to electrical resistivity, tables are drawn for the differences in limit potential for cargo and ship safety. The analysis of production and storage mechanisms of electric loads within lines as well as the determination of load sensity evolution allow for an analysis of safety conditions of navigation on the seas, oceans and in the harbors of the world. KEYWORDS: electrostatic load; combustible liquid; flowing current; diffusion; migration; connection of electric load 1. INTRODUCTION When flowing through pipes, combustible liquids get charged with electricity. When electric load appear their value is determined by a process of setting up a double electric layer, which represents a spatial distribution of electric of electric loads on the contact surface of the liquid phase with the wall of the specific pipe. The equations which govern the distribution of electric loads in the case of flowing combustible liquids of low conductivity enable us to make a compression between experimental results and theoretical results, in order to ensure a better understanding of the phenomenon of electrostatic charging. Static electricity present a risk of fire and explosion during loading, unloading, decantation and storage of oil products is due to the impurities which are deposited. Where the oil liquid comes in contact with the wall of the delivery pipe, Wan der Waals and Coulomb resulting forces can be channeled towards the interior or the exterior of the pipe depending on the sign of the load on the product to be carried.