The effect of barriers on reducing thermal heat fluxes from a hydrocarbon pool fire

The radiant heat flux from a pool fire is frequently calculated using the solid flame model, where the flame envelope is approximated as a stationary cylinder whose surface emits thermal radiation at a constant rate. Radiant heat flux calculations using the solid flame model assume the target to be at a given elevation, typically at ground level, and to have an unobstructed view of the fire. The presence of obstacles (e.g., walls, buildings, etc.) or terrain features that would create shaded areas and provide shielding of a target from the fire is typically neglected in these calculations: this is a conservative approach, but it is not accurate. This paper presents a methodology to utilize the solid flame model to calculate the heat flux to a target while taking into account the presence of an obstruction between the target and the fire. The shielded solid flame method can quantitatively account for the presence of obstacles as a passive mitigation measure and allows project developers or designers to optimize their facility layout to meet safety requirements. The methodology presented in this paper uses the same correlations found in currently used solid flame models (e.g., LNGFIRE3), therefore, it remains consistent with current regulatory requirements for LNG facilities in the U.S.     

Thermal radiation calculation of complex surface based on Triangulation and Gauss Integral Method

To solve the problem of thermal radiation in complex geometric scenes, a finite element method based on Delaunay triangulation and three-point Gauss integral is proposed. The calculated value is compared with model existing theoretical solution of view factor, and the results show that the errors are within 3%. The method is applied to calculate the thermal radiation of combustion between adjacent liquefied petroleum gas tanks. The geometric model of conical flame and adjacent spherical tanks is also established. The result shows the maximum heat flux received by adjacent spherical tanks is 11.3 kW/m² when the flame temperature is 1470 K without wind.     

氧化铁粒径对固体推进剂火焰特征参数影响的试验研究

针对5-氨基四氮唑/硝酸锶固体推进剂在实际应用中存在的推进剂火焰偏大、容易在灭火装置喷口处形成外喷火焰的问题,选用了微米氧化铁和纳米氧化铁作为催化剂,分别从火焰形态、质量损失速率、热释放速率、无量纲火焰高度模型几个角度开展研究,对比了两种不同粒径的氧化铁对5-氨基四氮唑/硝酸锶固体推进剂燃烧火焰的优化效果。根据燃烧试验结果,发现不论是富氧燃烧还是贫氧燃烧,在降低推进剂燃烧时的火焰高度方面,微米氧化铁均明显优于纳米氧化铁;在提高质量损失速率方面,微米氧化铁的加速效果也要优于纳米氧化铁。基于传统的液态燃料油池火发展的火焰高度预测模型,将无量纲火焰高度与热释放速率的分析关系应用到固体推进剂燃烧领域,考虑使用无量纲火焰高度的分析方法,对固体推进剂燃烧过程中的火焰高度进行预测,建立了5-氨基四氮唑/硝酸锶固体推进剂的无量纲火焰高度模型,发现不含氧化铁和含有氧化铁的5-氨基四氮唑/硝酸锶固体推进剂燃烧时的火焰高度与热释放速率的n次方成正比,该无量纲拟合可以对固体推进剂火焰高度进行预测。最终,得出了微米氧化铁比纳米氧化铁更适合作为催化剂被用于5-氨基四氮唑/硝酸锶推进剂中,有利于提高固体推进式灭火装置的灭火效果。     

Theoretical pressure prediction of confined hydrogen explosion considering flame instabilities

In order to ensure the safe utilization of hydrogen energy, the explosion pressure behavior is extremely important to design chemical equipment and evaluate explosion accident consequence. This paper is aimed at establishing a theoretical method of predicting explosion pressure behavior in the confined chamber by considering flame instabilities. The tendency of flame wrinkling factor in the pressure-buildup stage is firstly evaluated using large eddy simulation and the compensation theory. The limiting value of flame wrinkling factor during entire explosion process is calculated using the fractal theory. Finally, the dynamic model of flame wrinkling factor is implemented into the smooth flame model. The results demonstrated that the flame wrinkling factor in the pressure-buildup stage almost increases linearly with time. The limiting value of flame wrinkling factor is 2.4649. The explosion pressure will be underestimated using the smooth flame model, and the calculated explosion pressure in the isothermal condition is smaller than that in the adiabatic condition. When the fully turbulent flame is considered, the explosion pressure will be overpredicted significantly. By changing the confined chamber size, the explosion pressure could be reproduced relatively satisfactorily when the flame wrinkling factor is assumed to increase exponentially. The explosion pressure prediction must consider the effect of adiabatic compression and flame instabilities on burning rate.     

Experimental and numerical study of the fuel effect on flame propagation in long open tubes

Previous works (Daubech et al., 2019) were dedicated to gaseous flame acceleration along long pipes with a set of cases studied both experimentally and numerically. In these cases, the flammable mixture was initially quiescent and homogenously distributed. The impact of the tube diameter and material were studied trough both approaches for rather slow flames, the fuel being methane. While main features of the real flame were recovered by the chosen CFD method, some limits remained.A new experimental dataset is detailed and analyzed with a quicker flame, the fuel being hydrogen and the same experimental set-up as the one used for measuring slow flames. Thus, the fuel effect on the flame dynamics can be directly highlighted.A simple CFD approach is tested for recovering two distinct flame behaviors: a deflagration flame and another undergoing deflagration-to-detonation transition. Furthermore, the modelling results are used to propose elements of interpretation for flame acceleration.     

Investigation on the suppression effect of high momentum C6F12O (Novec-1230) flow on hydrogen jet flame

This work investigates the suppression effect of Novec-1230 on H₂ jet flame. The suppressants are motivated by N₂ flow to get higher momentum and approach the reaction kernel at flame base. The flame area with Novec-1230 is always smaller than that with water mist at the same condition. Novec-1230 exhibits better suppression effect on reaction kernel. The higher-momentum jet flame is more difficult to be suppressed. This is because that the higher-momentum flame makes the suppressant approach the reaction kernel more difficult. In addition, the high N₂ flow rate containing suppressant could destroy flame temperature structure and decrease it. Results inferred that the temperature of flame with Novec-1230 is higher than that with water mist. Moreover, the lower minimum extinguishing time indicates that the suppression efficiency of Novec-1230 is better than that of water mist. The jet flame is extinguished only when H₂ flow rate is low and N₂ flow rate is high. There are two reasons: one is that the higher-momentum jet flame prevents suppressants to enter flame core. The other one is that the burner nozzle is heated to as igniting source during suppression progress. Furthermore, the burning velocity, adiabatic flame temperature, heat production and free radicals are investigated theoretically at Φ = 1.6, 1.0, 0.8 and 0.6. Results indicate that the burning velocity with Novec-1230 is much lower than that with water mist. The adiabatic flame temperature, heat production and free radicals increase firstly and then decrease with Novec-1230 addition at lean flame.     

Towards hydrogen safety engineering for reacting and non-reacting hydrogen releases

Hydrogen Safety Engineering (HSE) is the application of scientific and engineering principles to the protection of life, property and environment from adverse effects of incidents/accidents involving hydrogen. Validated engineering tools for calculation of flammable envelope size and hydrogen jet flame length are of importance for calculation of safety distances. This paper compares the University of Ulster (UU) methodology for calculation of safety distances based on the similarity law for concentration decay in non-reacting jet, and the approach given in the standard NFPA 55 (NFPA 55, 2010). It is shown that NFPA 55 can overestimate an axial distance to the lower flammability limit up to 160%. Two correlations for hydrogen jet flame length are compared. One approach (Sandia National Laboratories) correlates the dimensionless flame length with the flame Froude number, and another (UU) associates the flame length with a new similarity group, which is a product of mass flow rate and nozzle diameter. Both approaches are compared against 123 experimental data on expanded and underexpanded jet flames. In the typical for hydrogen applications momentum-controlled regime the first approach has scattering of experimental data 50% while the second approach gives only 20% and thus is preferable for the use by hydrogen safety engineers.     

Review of the DESC project

Dust Explosion Simulation Code (DESC) was a project supported by the European Commission under the Fifth Framework Programme. The main purpose of the project was to develop a simulation tool based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) that could predict the potential consequences of industrial dust explosions in complex geometries. Partners in the DESC consortium performed experimental work on a wide range of topics related to dust explosions, including dust lifting by flow or shock waves, flame propagation in vertical pipes, dispersion-induced turbulence and flame propagation in closed vessels, dust explosions in closed and vented interconnected vessel systems, and measurements in real process plants. The new CFD code DESC is based on the existing CFD code FLame ACceleration Simulator (FLACS) for gas explosions. The modelling approach adopted in the first version entails the extraction of combustion parameters from pressure–time histories measured in standardized 20-l explosion vessels. The present paper summarizes the main experimental results obtained during the DESC project, with a view to their relevance regarding dust explosion modelling, and describes the modelling of flow and combustion in the first version of the DESC code. Capabilities and limitations of the code are discussed, both in light of its ability to reproduce experimental results, and as a practical tool in the field of dust explosion safety.     

Detonation transition criteria from the interaction of supersonic shock-flame complexes with different shaped obstacles

The present study is an experimental investigation of the last stages of the deflagration-to-detonation transition. A fast flame following a lead shock was generated by passing a detonation wave through a perforated plate. The shock flame complex then interacts with an obstacle of different shape. We study the influence of the obstacle shape on the transition mechanism to a detonation. The obstacles studied are a single round or square obstacle, a flat plate, a C-shaped and an H-shaped obstacle. The experiments were performed in a thin transparent channel permitting high speed schlieren visualization. Stoichiometric propane-oxygen was investigated at sub-atmospheric conditions. For each obstacle configuration, the initial pressure was changed to modify the flame burning velocity and the Mach number of the leading shock. The burning velocity prior to the interaction was measured experimentally from the displacement velocity of the flame in the videos. This required estimating the speed of the gas ahead of the flame. A linear correction to the speed immediately behind the lead shock was applied using the shock change equations and the measured pressure gradient behind the lead shock in order to account for the non-steadiness of the lead shock and viscous losses to the walls. Three main findings were that the obstacle shape had a minimal influence on the critical flame strength required for transition, although obstacles with a forward facing cavity were able to suppress the transition by isolating the re-initiation event inside the cavity. The main transition mechanism for all geometries was the enhancement of the flame burning velocity through the flame interaction with the shock reflected on the obstacle leading to Richtmyer-Meshkov instability. Finally, it was found that the flame burning velocity of the initial flame required for transition was closely approximated by the Chapman-Jouguet burning velocity. Consistent with the visual observations, this supports the view that transition is favored when the flame is in phase with the acoustic waves, and strong internal pressure waves can be amplified.     

Numerical simulation of flame acceleration and deflagration-to-detonation transition of ethylene in channels

Ethylene (C₂H₄) is a hydrocarbon fuel and widely used in chemical industry, however, ethylene is highly flammable and therefore presents a serious fire and explosion hazard. This work is initiated by addressing the hazard assessment of ethylene mixtures in different scale channels (d = 5 mm, 10 mm and 20 mm) from the aspect of flame acceleration (FA) and deflagration-to-detonation transition (DDT) by using large eddy simulation (LES) method coupled with the artificially thickened flame (ATF) approach. The fifth order local characteristics based weighted essentially non-oscillatory (WENO) conservative finite difference scheme is employed to solve the governing equations. The numerical results confirm that flame velocity increase rapidly at the beginning stage in three channels, and the flame acceleration rate is slower in the subsequent stage, afterwards, the flame velocity has an abrupt increase, and the onset of detonation occurs. Due to the fact that wall effect is significant in the narrow channel (e.g.,5 mm), especially in the ignition stage of the flame, flames have different shapes in wider channels (10 mm and 20 mm) and narrow channel (5 mm). Both the pressure and temperature profiles confirm DDT run-up distances are 0.251 m, 0.203 m and 0.161 m in 20 mm, 10 mm and 5 mm channels, respectively, which indicates that a shorter run-up distance is required in narrower channel. The cellular detonation structures for the ethylene-air mixture in different channels indicate that multi-headed detonation structures can be found in 20 mm channel, as the channel width decreases to 10 mm, detonation has a single-headed spinning structure, as the width is further reduced to 5 mm, only large longitudinal oscillation of the pressure can be observed.     

基于CFD的大型储油罐区池火灾数值模拟*

为研究大型储油罐区池火灾温度、热辐射强度、流速、组分等燃烧特性参数在油罐外不同区域的变化规律，以10万m3原油储罐区为研究对象，构建罐区池火灾燃烧数学模型，运用计算流体动力学（Computational Fluid Dynamics，CFD）技术进行数值模拟研究。结果表明:整个火场温度大致呈锥形分布，火焰温度最高可达1 500 K，纵向来看，底部温度较高，上部温度逐渐降低，径向来看，中心温度较高，周围温度逐渐降低；随着距罐壁以及距罐顶距离的不断增加，热辐射强度均呈现逐渐降低的趋势，最高热辐射强度为132 kW/m2；罐顶上方区域存在火焰卷吸现象，中心位置流速最大，最高可达56 m/s，罐底区域存在火焰贴壁现象；得到燃烧产物（CO和CO2）的体积分数分布，以CO体积分数为0.001作为判断依据，推断出火焰高度为120 m。研究结果可为今后此类火灾事故的防治提供理论支撑。     

火焰沿层状疏松燃料的定常蔓延

本文从燃料预热角度出发，建立了一个无风状态下火焰沿层状疏松燃料水平定常蔓延的物理模型。在该模型中，假设环境无风，从热学角度考虑燃料很薄。燃料加热机制包括火焰辐射，燃料中的热辐射和热传导以及火焰通过扩散对流对其附近燃料的加热，散热机制包括燃料上表面辐射散热和对流散热。计算得到了火焰蔓延速度同几个主要影响因素之间的关系，并用曲线拟合技术得到了一个简单的函数表达式。该模型用实验进行了检验，由于对燃料中的热辐射采用了辐射向量的处理方法，同时，考虑了火焰卷吸引起的强迫对流对散热的影响，从而使计算结果同实验取得了较好的一致。     

Effect of scale on freely propagating flames in aluminum dust clouds

The majority of experimental tests done on combustible dusts are performed in constant volume vessels that have limited or no optical access. Over the years, McGill University has been developing alternative experimental techniques based on direct observation of dust flames, yielding reliable fundamental parameters such as flame burning velocity, temperature and structure. The present work describes two new experimental set-ups allowing direct observation of isobaric and freely propagating dust flames at two sufficiently different scales to test the influence of scale on dust flame phenomena. In the laboratory-scale experiments, a few grams of aluminum powder are dispersed in transparent, 30 cm diameter latex balloons that allow for full visualization of the spherical flame propagation. In the field experiments, about 1 kg of aluminum powder is dispersed by a short pulse of air, forming a conical dust cloud with a total volume of about 5 m³. High-speed digital imaging is used to record the particle dispersal and flame propagation in both configurations. In the small-scale laboratory tests, the measured flame speed is found to be about 2.0 ± 0.2 m/s in fuel-rich aluminium clouds. The burning velocity, calculated by dividing the measured flame speed by the expansion factor deduced from thermodynamic equilibrium calculations, correlates well with the previously measured burning velocity of about 22–24 cm/s from Bunsen dust flames. Flame speeds observed in field experiments with large-scale clouds, however, are found to be much higher, in the range of 12 ± 2 m/s. Estimations are presented that show that the presumably greater role of radiative heat transfer in larger-scale aluminium flames is insufficient to explain the six-fold increase in flame speed. The role of residual large-eddy turbulence, as well as the frozen-turbulence effect leading to large-scale dust concentration fluctuations that cause flame folding, are discussed as two possible sources for the greater flame speed.     

Numerical simulation of flame propagation and localized preflame autoignition in enclosures

A novel computational approach based on the coupled 3D Flame-Tracking–Particle (FTP) method is used for numerical simulation of confined explosions caused by preflame autoignition. The Flame-Tracking (FT) technique implies continuous tracing of the mean flame surface and application of the laminar/turbulent flame velocity concepts. The Particle method is based on the joint velocity–scalar probability density function approach for simulating reactive mixture autoignition in the preflame zone. The coupled algorithm is supplemented with the database of tabulated laminar flame velocities as well as with reaction rates of hydrocarbon fuel oxidation in wide ranges of initial temperature, pressure, and equivalence ratio. The main advantage of the FTP method is that it covers both possible modes of premixed combustion, namely, frontal and volumetric. As examples, combustion of premixed hydrogen–air, propane–air, and n-heptane–air mixtures in enclosures of different geometry is considered. At certain conditions, volumetric hot spots ahead of the propagating flame are identified. These hot spots transform to localized exothermic centers giving birth to spontaneous ignition waves traversing the preflame zone at very high apparent velocities, i.e., nearly homogeneous preflame explosion occurs. The abrupt pressure rise results in the formation of shock waves producing high overpressure peaks after reflections from enclosure walls.     

水平风对不同液位深度酒精池火火焰长度的影响

通过改变风速、液位深度的大小,研究边界条件变化对酒精池火火焰长度的影响。研究结果表明：在无量纲液位深度小于一定值时,酒精池火的火焰长度会随着风速的增加而增大,当无量纲液位深度较大时,油盘外部酒精池火的火焰长度基本为0。风速相同而液位深度不同时,酒精池火的火焰长度会随着液位深度的增大首先增大,而后逐渐减小。这主要是因为,液位深度较大时,燃料表面的供氧量降低导致燃烧效率降低,最终导致火焰长度的减小。     

基于三维图像分析的浮力扩散火焰几何与辐射特性研究

火焰几何特性和辐射特性是刻画火灾规模及其危害的重要参量。利用三维火焰重构技术,获取了丙烷浮力扩散火焰的火焰高度、表面积、体积和火焰面元视角系数的变化规律。结果表明,三维重构的火焰能够表征真实火焰形态的动态变化。平均火焰表面积和体积均可较好地拟合为热释放速率的幂函数,火焰表面积热释放速率随火焰热释放速率的增加趋于常数。平均火焰高度、表面积和体积与火焰外部平均辐射热流之间具有较好的幂函数关系,且拟合指数随着与火源距离的增大而减小。此外,将点源、圆柱辐射模型和火焰面元积分方法得到的辐射计算值与辐射测量值进行比较,发现火焰面元积分方法能够更好地预测火焰外围的瞬时和平均辐射热流分布。     

基于微积分的LPG和CNG喷射火模型建立和三维数值模拟

由液体和气体泄漏引发的喷射火灾事故屡见不鲜,而现有的喷射火模型却有诸多缺陷。将喷射火形状近似为圆锥,鉴于液体和气体的泄漏速度随压强和温度均有变化、点源离地面会有一定高度、风速对火焰倾角也有影响、圆锥喷射中心线上每个点源对目标的热辐射均不同等实际情况,新建液体和气体扩展半径的计算方法,引入风速对火焰高度和火焰偏角的作用,比较AGA法和Thornton模型,发现AGA法更加符合实际,再利用微积分原理建立三维点源喷射火模型,展示火焰形状对目标的影响,从而得出热辐射的最终危险性。最后以LPG和CNG储罐喷射火事故为例进行对比验证,首次模拟出喷射火的形状,更清晰准确地展示了目标入射热辐射通量随目标点位置的变化和危险范围,可为火焰阵面处的消防安全决策提供参考。     

Fast and tiny: A model for the flame propagation of nanopowders

To avoid the influence of external parameters, such as the vessel volume or the initial turbulence, the explosion severity should be determined from intrinsic properties of the fuel-air mixture. Therefore, the flame propagation of gaseous mixtures is often studied in order to estimate their laminar burning velocity, which is both independent of external factors and a useful input for CFD simulation. Experimentally, this parameter is difficult to evaluate when it comes to dust explosion, due to the inherent turbulence during the dispersion of the cloud. However, the low inertia of nanoparticles allows performing tests at very low turbulence without sedimentation. Knowledge on flame propagation concerning nanoparticles may then be modelled and, under certain conditions, extrapolated to microparticles, for which an experimental measurement is a delicate task. This work focuses on a nanocellulose with primary fiber dimensions of 3 nm width and 70 nm length. A one-dimensional model was developed to estimate the flame velocity of a nanocellulose explosion, based on an existing model already validated for hybrid mixtures of gas and carbonaceous nanopowders similar to soot. Assuming the fast devolatilization of organic nanopowders, the chemical reactions considered are limited to the combustion of the pyrolysis gases. The finite volume method was used to solve the mass and energy balances equations and mass reactions rates constituting the numerical system. Finally, the radiative heat transfer was also considered, highlighting the influence of the total surface area of the particles on the thermal radiation. Flame velocities of nanocellulose from 17.5 to 20.8 cm/s were obtained numerically depending on the radiative heat transfer, which proves a good agreement with the values around 21 cm/s measured experimentally by flame visualization and allows the validation of the model for nanoparticles.     

Particle image velocimetry (PIV) analysis of flame structure

An experimental study of methane–air flame propagation in a duct is reported. A flat duct was chosen to allow optical visualization and flame propagation measurements. The duct was equipped with optical-quality windows to allow Schlieren visualization and particle image velocimetry (PIV) velocity measurements. The flame propagation velocity, flow structure, and velocity distribution in the flame for a different air excess factor are reported.