Experimental study of flame acceleration and the deflagration-to-detonation transition under conditions of transverse venting

Results of experiments on critical conditions for flame acceleration and the deflagration-to-detonation transition in tubes with transverse venting are presented. Tests were made with hydrogen mixtures in two tubes (inner diameter of 46 and 92 mm) with obstacles. Ratios of vent area to total tube area were 0.2 and 0.4. Venting was shown to influence flame acceleration significantly. The greater the vent ratio, the more reactive the mixture necessary for development of fast flames. Critical conditions for flame acceleration in tubes with venting, expressed through a critical mixture expansion ratio σ_cr, were found to be σ_cr/σ₀1+2, where σ₀ is the critical value for a closed tube. Critical conditions for detonation onset in a vented tube were found to be very close to those in a closed tube with similar configuration of obstacles.     

Scale effects on hydrogen–air fast deflagrations and detonations in small obstructed channels

An experimental study of flame propagation, acceleration and transition to detonation in hydrogen–air mixture in 2-m-long rectangular cross-section channel filled with obstacles located at the bottom wall was performed. The initial conditions of the hydrogen–air mixture were 0.1 MPa and 293 K and stoichiometric composition (29.6% H₂ in air). The channel width was 0.11 m and blockage ratio was 0.5 in all experiments. The effect of channel geometrical scale on flame propagation was studied by using four channel heights H of 0.01, 0.02, 0.04, and 0.08 m. In each case, the obstacle height was equal to H/2 and the obstacle spacing was 2H.

The propagation of flame and pressure waves was monitored by four pressure transducers and four ion probes. The pairs of transducers and probes were placed at various locations along the channel in order to get information about the progress of the phenomena along the channel.

As a result of the experiments, the deflagration and detonation regimes and velocities of flame propagation in the obstructed channel were established.     

An influence of oxygen content in an oxidizing atmosphere on inhibitive action of fluorinated agents on a hydrogen flame

An experimental investigation of the influence of inhibitors of various chemical natures on flammability limits in mixtures H₂+oxidizer (O₂+N₂)–suppressant (C₂HF₅; CHF₃; C₄F₁₀; inhibitor AKM, which is a mixture of olefins) was carried out. Compositions of N₂ and O₂ with elevated (25 vol%) and reduced (15 vol%) oxygen concentrations and air were used as oxidizing atmospheres. Experiments were done at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. Flammability limits were determined in a closed vessel of volume of 4.2 dm³ (internal diameter 20 cm). Mixtures were prepared immediately in the preliminary evacuated reaction vessel by partial pressures. The mixtures were ignited by an electrical spark of energy near 1 J in the center of the reaction vessel. A flame propagation was detected by a pressure transducer. Twelve flammability curves were measured, which allowed to compare effectiveness of the inhibitors at various oxygen contents in the atmosphere. A qualitative analysis of the obtained results was done, which showed an important role of an inhibitor regeneration.     

Determination of the maximum effective burning velocity of dust–air mixtures in constant volume combustion

The reactivity of a combustible dust cloud is traditionally characterized by the so-called K_St value, defined as the maximum rate of pressure rise measured in constant volume explosion vessels, multiplied with the cube root of the vessel volume. The present paper explores the use of an alternative parameter, called the maximum effective burning velocity (u_eff,max), which also is derived from pressure–time histories obtained in constant volume explosion experiments. The proposed parameter describes the reactivity of fuel–air mixtures as a function of the dispersion-induced turbulence intensity. Procedures for estimating u_eff,max from tests in both spherical and cylindrical explosion vessels are outlined, and examples of calculated values for various fuel–air mixtures in closed vessels of different sizes and shapes are presented. Tested fuels include a mixture of 7.5% methane in air, and suspensions of 500 g/m³ cornstarch in air and 500 g/m³ coal dust in air. Three different test vessels have been used: a 20-l spherical vessel and two cylindrical vessels, 7 and 22 l. The results show that the estimated maximum effective burning velocities are less apparatus dependent than the corresponding K_St values.     

Explosibility of hydrogen–graphite dust hybrid mixtures

To evaluate the hazard of combined hydrogen/dust explosions under severe accident conditions in International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), standard method of 20-L-sphere was used to measure the explosion indices of 4-μm fine graphite dust in lean hydrogen/air mixtures. The mixtures were ignited by a weak electric spark. The tested fuel concentrations were 8–18 vol% H₂ and 25–250 g/m³ dust. If the hydrogen content is higher than 10 vol%, the dust constituent can be induced to explode by the hydrogen explosion initiated by a weak electric spark. Depending on the fuel component concentrations, the explosions proceed in either one or two stages. In two-stage explosions occurring at low hydrogen and dust concentrations, the mixture ignition initiates first a fast hydrogen explosion followed by a slower phase of the dust explosion. With increasing dust concentration, the dust explodes faster and can overlap the hydrogen-explosion stage. At higher hydrogen concentrations, the hybrid mixtures explode in one stage, with hydrogen and dust reacting at the same time scale. Maximum overpressures of hybrid explosions are higher than those observed with hydrogen alone; maximum rates of pressure rise are lower in two-phase explosions and, generally, higher in one-stage explosions, than those characteristic of the corresponding H₂/air mixtures.     

Scaling parameters for vented gas and dust explosions

Results of experiments or calculations for vented explosions are usually presented by expressing a term containing the peak (reduced) pressure as a function of a vent parameter. In gas explosions, the reactivity of the system has been typically characterized through an effective burning velocity, u_f. In the case of dust explosions, a normalized peak rate of pressure rise, K(=V^1/3(dp/dt)_max), has been used instead. Depending on the chosen approach, comparisons between systems with the same “reactivity” take different meanings. In fact, correlation formulas resulting from these two approaches imply different scaling between important system parameters. In the case of a constant-u_f system, and for sufficiently large vent areas, the reduced pressure, Δp_r, is approximately proportional to the square of the peak unvented pressure, Δp_m. On the other hand, correlations developed for constant-K systems imply proportionality of Δp_r with Δp_m raised to a power between −5/3 and −1, with the exact value depending on the assumptions made on the shape of the pressure profile. While the ultimate resolution of the details of the scaling may require recourse to experiments, this theoretical analysis offers a tool for the planning of such experiments and for the interpretation of their results. The paper provides a discussion of these scaling issues with the help of predictions from an isothermal model of vented explosions.     

Calculation of the stability criterion in the reaction of energetic materials

The stability in the energetic materials' thermal decomposition reaction is developed from both transient mass and heat transfer equations simultaneously. The derived equation is the sufficient and necessary condition for the reaction system's stability, which was expressed as:

In this stability equation, a modified Semenov number φ is the expressed function of three kinetic parameters, i.e., n, and β and two variables, i.e., x and θ, respectively. A reaction system is stable if its evaluated modified Semenov number satisfies this stability criterion. In the case of the minimum modified Semenov number φ_m, we can deduce the stability equation at critical condition as

The criteria of stability for the explosives TNT, RDX, PETN and HMX were evaluated using this formula, which was expressed θ_c as function of x at given n, η and various β as parameters.     

多元可燃性气体爆炸压力与中间产物发射光谱特性的耦合研究

工业生产中爆炸事故往往是由多元可燃气体与空气混合后遇到明火而引起的，为研究乙烷（C₂H₆）、乙烯（C₂H₄）、一氧化碳（CO）、氢气（H₂）对甲烷爆炸特性的影响，选取多组分可燃气体甲烷爆炸压力特性和自由基发射光谱的影响进行研究，利用陕西省工业过程安全与应急救援工程技术研究中心重点实验室搭建的多功能球形气体/粉尘爆炸实验装置和单色仪进行爆炸实验测试，同步采集时间—压力曲线、中间产物（OH，CH₂O）的发射光谱信号，考察多组分可燃气体浓度对甲烷爆炸压力特性和中间产物的影响。结果表明:在富氧状态下，多组分可燃气体加剧了甲烷—空气混合体系的爆炸剧烈程度，随着体系中氧气含量的减少、由富氧状态变为贫氧状态、促进作用逐渐减弱转变为阻尼作用，爆炸压力特性与中间产物发射光谱参数的影响规律基本保持一致，均呈高度正相关；多元混合体系爆炸剧烈程度越大，自由基发射光谱达到峰值的速度越快，自由基更早、更快的积累是加剧爆炸程度的原因之一。     

水泥窑用低氮燃烧器燃烧特性的试验研究

基于水泥生产线NO_x排放机理及控制方法,设计、研发了一种新型水泥窑用低氮燃烧器,并分析了天然气、煤制气及混合气的燃烧特性及其污染物的排放特性。结果表明:在过量空气系数α为1.2、二次风占比β为0.6时,新型低氮燃烧器燃烧天然气的效果较好,NO_x排放量为53 mg/m³,CO排放量为22 mg/m³;在相同燃烧条件下,煤制气燃烧温度及NO_x排放量比天然气高,CO排放量低于天然气;在过量空气系数α为1.2、二次风占比β为0.8时,NO_x排放量为57 mg/m³,CO排放量为6 mg/m³;天然气和煤制气掺烧时,其燃烧特性介于两者之间,且掺烧煤制气可提高天然气的燃烧速率。     

Experimental investigation of hydrogen–air deflagrations and detonations in semi-confined flat layers

This paper presents results of an experimental investigation on the deflagration and deflagration-to-detonation transition (DDT) in an obstructed (blockage ratio BR = 50%), semi-confined flat layer filled with uniform hydrogen–air mixtures. The effect of mixture reactivity depending on flat layer thickness and its width is studied to evaluate the critical conditions for sonic flame propagation and the possibility for detonation onset. The experiments were performed in a transparent, rectangular channel with a length of 2.5 m. The flat layer thickness was varied from 0.06 to 0.24 m and the experiments were performed for different channel widths of 0.3, 0.6 and 0.9 m. The experimental results show flame velocity vs. hydrogen concentration for different thicknesses and widths of the semi-confined flat layer. Three different flame propagation regimes were observed: slow subsonic flame (M << 1), sonic deflagration (M ～ 1) and detonation (M >> 1). It is shown that flame acceleration (FA) to sonic speed is independent of the width of the flat layer. The critical expansion ratio for effective flame acceleration to sonic speed was found to be linearly dependent on the reciprocal layer thickness.     

Determination of turbulent burning velocities of dust air mixtures with the open tube method

Correlating turbulent burning velocity to turbulence intensity and basic flame parameters-like laminar burning velocity for dust air mixtures is not only a scientific challenge but also of practical importance for the modelling of dust flame propagation in industrial facilities and choice of adequate safety strategy. The open tube method has been implemented to measure laminar and turbulent burning velocities at laboratory scale for turbulence intensities in the range of a few m/s. Special care has been given to the experimental technique so that a direct access to the desired parameters was possible minimising interpretation difficulties. In particular, the flame is propagating freely, the flame velocity is directly accessible by visualisation and the turbulence intensity is measured at the flame front during flame propagation with special aerodynamic probes. In the present paper, those achievements are briefly recalled. In addition, a complete set of experiments for diametrically opposed dusts, starch and aluminium, has been performed and is presented hereafter. The experimental data, measured for potato dust air mixtures seem to be in accordance with the Bray Gülder model in the range of 1.5 m/s<u′<3.5 m/s. For a further confirmation, the measurement range has been extended to lower levels of turbulence of u′<1.5 m/s. This could be achieved by changing the mode of preparation of the dust air mixture. In former tests, the particles have been injected into the tube from a pressurised dust reservoir; for the lower turbulence range, the particles have been inserted into the tube from above by means of a sieve–riddler system, and the turbulence generated from the pressurised gas reservoir as before. For higher levels of turbulence, aluminium air mixtures have been investigated using the particle injection mode with pressurised dust reservoir. Due to high burning rates much higher flame speeds than for potato dusts of up to 23 m/s have been obtained.     

Comparative assessment of the explosion characteristics of alcohol–air mixtures

Explosion characteristics of five alcohol–air (ethanol, 1-butanol, 1-pentanol, 2-pentanol and 3-pentanol) mixtures were experimentally conducted in an isochoric chamber over wide ranges of initial temperature and pressure. The effect of temperature and pressure on the different explosion behaviors among these alcohols with various structures were investigated. Results show that the peak explosion pressure is increased with the decrease of temperature and increase of pressure. Maximum rate of pressure rise is insensitive to the temperature variation while it significantly increases with the increase of initial pressure. Among the 1-, 2-, and 3-pentanol–air mixtures, 1-pentanol has the highest values in peak explosion pressure and maximum rate of pressure rise and 2-pentanol gives the lowest values at the initial pressure of 0.1 MPa. These differences tend to be decreased with the increase of initial pressure. Among the three primary alcohol–air (ethanol, 1-butanol and 1-pentanol) mixtures, a similar explosion behavior is presented at the lean mixture side because of the combined effect of adiabtic temperature and flame propagation speed. At the rich mixture side, 1-pentanol gives the highest values in peak explosion pressure and maximum rate of pressure rise and ethanol gives the lowest values. This phenomenon can be interpretated from the combining influence of heat release and heat loss, since the flame speeds of ethanol-, 1-butanol-, 1-pentanol–air mixtures are close at rich mixture side.     

Hazard evaluation of hydrogen–air deflagration with flame propagation velocity measurement by image velocimetry using brightness subtraction

Deflagration phenomena in hydrogen–air mixtures initially filled in 1.4 m³ spherical latex balloons were measured using a high-speed digital video camera and pressure transducers. The image velocimetry using brightness subtraction was introduced to eliminate the background effects for obtaining accurate time evolution records of flame propagation velocity. The maximum flame propagation velocity of about 100 m/s was observed with maximum overpressure 15 kPa at 1 m from ignition point. According to the detailed flame propagation velocity records, there were long deceleration durations. The observed maximum overpressure was smaller than the overpressure estimated by the basis of the observed maximum flame propagation velocity and the pressure wave theories of spherical flames. A new blast curve plot of scaled overpressure vs. distance was tentatively proposed.     

“Vybuchovy trojuhelnik”: A software tool for evaluation of explosibility of coal mine atmosphere

Rescue operations during mine fires or methane explosions are highly dangerous for rescue workers. The knowledge of the composition of the coal mine atmosphere and the calculations of its explosibility may help to increase the safety of the rescuers. In the Czech Republic, a system called “Mine Gas Laboratory” (DPL) has been used for these purposes. The DPL allows measurement of the composition of the mine atmosphere and transmits the data necessary for evaluation to the surface. Up to now the explosibility evaluation of the coal mine atmosphere has depended either on the rescuers’ experience or on software code calculation. The code called “Vybuchovy trojuhelnik” (explosion triangle) is a graphical computing system intended for fast assessment of explosibility of fuel–air mixture. This article introduces the code and describes two simple methods of explosibility evaluation. The first method is “explosion triangle analysis”—a graphical method based on empirical graphs transformed into equations. The second method uses thermodynamic calculation based on chemical balance dynamics and Gibbs and Helmholtz energy. According to the requirements of the Czech Bureau of Mining (CBU) and Central Mine Rescue Service (HBZS), the code solves the problems of explosion triangle for both standard and non-standard coal mine atmosphere compositions. Unfortunately, the atmosphere composition must be introduced manually due to the unknown format of the data transmitted from the old DPL model. On 1 September 2005, a project started to develop a new system for on-line monitoring and atmosphere explosibility evaluation. The system should be able to measure CO₂, O₂, CH₄, H₂ and CO concentrations as well as the wind speed, temperature and humidity. The “Vybuchovy trojuhelnik” code will be used as a basis for explosibility evaluation, and an on-line connection with the new model of DPL will be established.     

海州露天矿采空区地表CO2通量的试验研究

为探究海州露天矿东邦废弃采空区自然发火状态,基于采空区遗煤自燃特性和气体扩散理论,采用智能土壤气体通量监测系统,以月为单位,对东邦自燃采空区上覆地表CO₂通量开展长周期、多测点连续性监测试验;根据试验区域内地表CO₂通量和土壤温度分布特征,探究地下火区释放CO₂的地表涌出范围和变化情况;同时,着眼于温室气体排放的评估,计算试验区域内的CO₂涌出量,并分析其随时间的变化特征。结果表明:地表CO₂通量与土壤温度有明显正相关性;试验区域地表CO₂高通量区域呈逐月扩大和递增的趋势;CO₂涌出量随月份逐渐递增,试验区域年CO₂涌出量约为3.6×10⁶ m³。     

An experimental study of flame acceleration and deflagration to detonation transition in representative process piping

The paper summarizes the results of experimental tests and accompanying analyses to investigate the factors that govern flame acceleration and potential transition to detonation in a relatively long unobstructed piping system. The overall aim of the work was to obtain sufficient experimental data so as to be able to develop and evaluate methodologies for classifying and predicting potential detonation flame acceleration and deflagration to detonation transition (DDT) hazard in industrial process pipes and mixtures. The present results show that the flame acceleration process in an unobstructed pipe exhibit three distinct phases: an initial establishment phase; a second rapid acceleration phase and a final transition to detonation phase. Test results with ethylene indicate that the acceleration process is not sensitive to initial pressure (all other parameters remaining constant) but can be sensitivity to initial pipe wall temperature or possibly mixture humidity. The presence of bends increases the local rate of turbulent combustion, an effect attributed to the additional turbulence generated downstream of the bend. For straight pipes, detonation was only observed to develop for hydrogen–air and ethylene–air mixtures. Detonation was not observed with methane, propane or acetone as fuel in the present piping apparatus.     

Numerical studies on minimum ignition energies in methane/air and iso-octane/air mixtures

In this study, the dependence of minimum ignition energies (MIE) on ignition geometry, ignition source radius and mixture composition is investigated numerically for methane/air and iso-octane/air mixtures. Methane and iso-octane are both important hydrocarbon fuels, but differ strongly with respect to their Lewis numbers. Lean iso-octane air mixtures have particularly large Lewis numbers. The results show that within the flammability limits, the MIE for both mixtures stays almost constant, and increases rapidly at the limits. The MIEs for both fuels are also similar within the flammability limits. Furthermore, the MIEs of iso-octane/air mixtures with a small spherical ignition source increase rapidly for lean mixtures. Here the Lewis number is above unity, and thus, the flame may quench because of flame curvature effects. The observations show a distinct difference between ignition and flame propagation for iso-octane. The minimum energy required for initiating a successful flame propagation can be considerably higher than that required for initiating an ignition in the ignition volume. For iso-octane with a small spherical ignition source, this effect was observed at all equivalence ratios. For iso-octane with cylindrical ignition sources, the phenomenon appeared at lower equivalence ratios only, where the mixture's Lewis number is large. For methane fuel, the effect was negligible. The results highlight the significance of molecular transport properties on the decision whether or not an ignitable mixture can evolve into a propagating flame.     

A constant pressure dust explosion experiment

A new apparatus has been designed for investigating flame propagation in turbulent dust clouds at near constant pressure conditions. The experimental approach is inspired by the classical soap bubble method for measuring burning velocities in gaseous mixtures. Combustible dust is dispersed with pressurised air to form an explosive mixture inside a transparent latex balloon. After a certain delay time, the turbulent dust cloud is ignited by a 40 J chemical igniter. A digital high-speed video camera records the propagating flame and the expansion of the balloon. Experiments were performed with two types of dust, Lycopódium spores and maize starch, as well as with propane–air mixtures under initially quiescent or turbulent conditions. Although the results are primarily qualitative in nature, they nevertheless demonstrate fundamental differences between premixed combustion of gaseous mixtures, and ‘premixed combustion with non-premixed substructures' in mechanical suspensions of solid particles dispersed in air. The discussion highlights some fundamental challenges for future dust explosion research.     

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.