Thermal radiation from vapour cloud explosions

The current study estimates the radiation flux emitted from hot extended gas clouds characteristic of vapour cloud explosions along with the corresponding level of irradiance posed on particles suspended in the unburnt part of the cloud ahead of an advancing flame front. The data presented permits an assessment of the plausibility of combustion initiation by such particles due to forward thermal radiation. The thermal radiation will depend on the emissivity of the burned volume, which relates to the concentration of gaseous and particulate combustion products. A sensitivity analysis has been carried out to account for variations in the equivalence ratio, mixture pressure and radiative heat losses. The spatial distribution of irradiance ahead of the flame front has been computed by introducing appropriate geometrical factors to explore the impact of cloud size. Using fuel rich ethylene-air mixtures it has been shown that high flame emissivities can be achieved at path lengths of order 1 m even in the presence of very low soot volume fractions. The emissivity of gas-soot mixtures will hence be mainly determined by the soot concentration and to a lesser extent by the mixture temperature. Our analysis suggests that the role of forward thermal radiation as a contributing factor to flame propagation in large scale vapour cloud explosions can not currently be ruled out.     

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.     

Radiation heat transfer in transient dust cloud flame propagation

This study investigates the impact of radiation heat transfer and heat conduction on dust cloud combustion. Radiation plays a very important role in the stability of dust cloud flame, and increasing the amount of radiation drastically raises the possibility of instability and explosion in a dust cloud mixture. Flame speed, which is a function of mixture characteristics, can exhibit a fluctuating behavior. By using the discrete heat source method, it would be possible to study the transient propagation of dust flames. Thus, the propagation speed of flame can be obtained, and as time goes by, the transient speed of dust flame will reach its steady state value. By considering the radiation effect, better agreement is observed between the obtained results and experimental data.     

4种典型易燃烟煤的着火特性分析*

为了研究典型易燃烟煤的着火特性，预防和控制煤尘爆炸，采用粉尘云最低着火温度实验装置和同步热分析仪，分别研究崔木长焰煤、东荣二矿气煤、察哈素不粘煤和丁集焦煤4种烟煤在不同条件下的煤尘云最低着火温度和煤尘热解过程。研究结果表明:当煤尘云浓度从0.90 kg/m3上升到5.99 kg/m3时，4种煤尘的最低着火温度先降后升，在1.50 kg/m3煤尘云浓度时，4种煤尘的最低着火温度均达到最小，分别为450，580，610，620 ℃。随着升温速率的升高，煤的着火温度、峰值温度、燃尽温度和煤样最大放热量整体呈上升趋势，失重率整体呈下降趋势，在5~20 ℃/min的升温速率范围内，崔木长焰煤、东荣二矿气煤、察哈素不粘煤和丁集焦煤热解过程中的最小着火温度分别为354.17，404.37，443.18，484.13 ℃。4种烟煤的最低着火温度和热解过程中的最小着火温度有相对应关系，研究结论可为以上4个煤矿的具体煤样研究和数据分析提供参考依据。     

Numerical study on premixing characteristics and explosion process of starch in a vertical pipe under turbulent flow

Fire and explosion accidents are frequently caused by combustible dust, which has led to increased interest in this area of research. Although scholars have performed some research in this field, they often ignored interesting phenomena in their experiments. In this paper, we established a 2D numerical method to thoroughly investigate the particle motion and distribution before ignition. The optimal time for the corn starch dust cloud to ignite was determined in a semi-closed tube, and the characteristics of the flame propagation and temperature field were investigated after ignition inside and outside the tube. From the simulation, certain unexpected phenomena that occurred in the experiment were explained, and some suggestions were proposed for future experiments. The results from the simulation showed that 60–70 ms was the best time for the dust cloud to ignite. The local high-temperature flame clusters were caused by the agglomeration of high-temperature particles, and there were no flames near the wall of the tube due to particles gathering and attaching to the wall. Vortices formed around the nozzle, where the particle concentration was low and the flame spread slowly. During the explosion venting, particles flew out of the tube before the flame. The venting flame exhibited a “mushroom cloud” shape due to interactions with the vortex, and the flame maintained this shape as it was driven upward by the vortex.     

A numerical model for the prediction of the minimum ignition temperature of dust clouds

This paper presents a numerical model for the prediction of the minimum ignition temperature (MIT) of dust clouds. First, a physical model is developed for the dust cloud ignition in the Godbert-Greenwald furnace. A numerical approach is then applied for the MIT prediction based on the physical model. The model considers heat transfer between the air and dust particles, the dust particle reaction kinetics, and the residence times of dust clouds in the furnace. In general, for the 13 dusts studied, the calculated MIT data are in agreement with the experimental values. There is also great accordance between the experimental and numerical MIT variation trends against particle size. Two different ignition modes are discovered. The first one consists in ignition near the furnace wall for bigger particles characterized by rather short residence times. In the second mode, the ignition starts from the center of the furnace by self-heating of the dust cloud for smaller particles with longer residence times. For magnesium, as dust concentration increases, the lowest ignition temperature of the dust cloud IT(conc) decreases first, then transits to increase at a certain point. The transition happens at different dust concentrations for different particle sizes. Moreover, the MIT of the magnesium dust cloud generally increases as particle size increases, but the increasing trend stagnates within a certain medium particle size range.     

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.     

Parametric study of the explosivity of graphite-metals mixtures

The explosivity of dust clouds is greatly influenced by several parameters which depend on the operating conditions, such as the initial turbulence, temperature or ignition energy, but obviously also on the materials composition. In the peculiar case of a mixture of two combustible powders, the physical and chemical properties of both dusts have an impact on the cloud flammability and on its explosivity. Nevertheless, no satisfactory ‘mixing laws’ predicting the mixture behavior are currently available and the composition variable to be considered for such models greatly depend on the safety parameters which have to be determined: from volume ratios for some thermal exchanges and ignition phenomena, to surface proportions for some heterogeneous reactions and molar contents for chemical reactions. This study is mainly focused on graphite/magnesium mixtures as they are encountered during the decommissioning activities of UNGG reactors (Natural Uranium Graphite Gas). Due to the different nature and reactivity of both powders, these mixtures offer a wide range of interests. Firstly, the rate-limiting steps for the combustion of graphite are distinct from those of metals (oxygen diffusion or metal vaporization). Secondly, the flame can be thickened by the presence of radiation during metal combustion, whereas this phenomenon is negligible for pure graphite. Finally, the turbulence of the initial dust cloud is modified by the addition of a second powder. In order to assess the explosivity of graphite/magnesium clouds, a parametric study of the effects of storage humidity, particle size distribution, ignition energy, and initial turbulence has been carried out. In particular, it was clearly demonstrated that the turbulence significantly influences the explosion severity by speeding up the rate of heat release on the one hand and the oxygen diffusion through the boundary layer surrounding particles on the other hand. Moreover, it modifies the mean particle size and the spatial dust distribution in the test vessel, impacting the uniformity of the dust cloud. Thus, the present work demonstrates that the procedures developed for standard tests are not sufficient to assess the dust explosivity in industrial conditions and that an extensive parametric study is relevant to figure out the explosive behavior of solid/solid mixtures subjected to variations of operating conditions.     

A few fundamental aspects about ignition and flame propagation in dust clouds

The history of the development of the process industry has been punctuated by a number of hazardous explosions, sometimes very severe. A few of them are still in the memory and certainly contributed to the birth of safety engineering. It has been known for more than one century than combustible dusts suspended in air are responsible for a part of those explosions but contrariwise to gas explosions, the available knowledge and practise seems still contain a significant part of empirism. The work summarised into this paper is an attempt to contribute to a better understanding of the explosion mechanisms of dust clouds. Hopefully, such additional information may help to refine the safety analysis exercise in the future. A specific effort has been devoted to combustion processes in the flame and the results indicate similarities with premixed gaseous flames. Several fundamental questions are addressed such as the incidence of thermal radiation, turbulence,… This information is important to treat ignition aspects. For spark type of ignition, it is shown that an absolute minimum ignition energy should exist for some dust clouds with a similar meaning than for premixed gaseous flames. For hot surface ignition, the standard ignition temperature (Godbert–Greenwald) seems to be reasonably correlated to the size and critical ignition temperature of the heating body. The possible implications of this new information within the scope of industrial safety are addressed in conclusion.     

飞火和热辐射耦合作用点燃松针的实验研究

飞火颗粒点燃和火焰辐射引燃是森林-城镇交界域火灾两种主要引燃方式。已有很多研究关注单种引燃方式,但缺乏二者耦合作用下的引燃机理研究。实验研究了热颗粒与热辐射耦合作用下松针燃料床的点燃行为,分析了热颗粒尺寸、温度及辐射热通量对点燃特性的影响。实验结果表明:热颗粒和热辐射耦合作用的点燃危险性远远高于热颗粒或者热辐射单独作用下的点燃危险性。耦合作用时,点燃概率随颗粒尺寸、温度和辐射热通量增大而增大,热颗粒临界点燃温度以及临界辐射热通量均随热颗粒尺寸增大而降低;阴燃向明火转变的点燃时间随辐射热通量增大而降低,但与颗粒状态呈现出较为复杂的关系。     

Propagation and extinction of dust flames in narrow channels

This article has investigated the propagation and extinction of aluminum dust cloud flame in a narrow channel. The burned and burning dust particles act as heat sources and the channel walls act as heat sinks. In this method, discrete heat source has been used to analyze dust combustion in a narrow channel. Using the superposition of sources and sinks, the preheat zone temperature is predicted as an indicator of flame propagation or extinction. Dust concentration and channel width are two major parameters which affect the quenching distance and flame propagating speed. Wall temperature affects the heat loss; and by preheating the walls, quenching distance is reduced and flame propagation speed is increased.     

Dust explosion hazard assessment

The majority of powders that are used in the processing industries are combustible (also referred to as flammable, explosible). An explosion will occur if the concentration of the combustible dust that is suspended in air is sufficient to propagate flame when ignited by a sufficiently energetic ignition source.A systematic approach to identifying dust cloud explosion safety against their consequences generally involves:-Identification of locations where combustible dust cloud atmospheres could be present-Understanding of the explosion characteristics of the dust(s)-Identification of potential ignition sources that could be present under normal and abnormal conditions-Proper process and facility design to eliminate and/or minimize the occurrence of dust explosions and protect people and facilities against their consequences-Adequate maintenance of facilities to prevent ignition sources and minimize dust releaseThis presentation will discuss the conditions that are required for dust cloud explosions to occur and presents a well-tried approach to identify, assess, and eliminate/control dust explosion hazards in facilities.     

Behavior of flames propagating through lycopodium dust clouds in a vertical duct

The structure of flame propagating through lycopodium dust clouds has been investigated experimentally. Upward propagating laminar flames in a vertical duct of 1800 mm height and 150×150 mm square cross-section are observed, and the leading flame front is also visualized using by a high-speed video camera. Although the dust concentration decreases slightly along the height of duct, the leading flame edge propagates upwards at a constant velocity. The maximum upward propagating velocity is 0.50 m/s at a dust concentration of 170 g/m³. Behind the upward propagating flame, some downward propagating flames are also observed. Despite the employment of nearly equal sized particles and its good dispersability and flowability, the reaction zone in lycopodium particles cloud shows the double flame structure in which isolated individual burning particles (0.5–1.0 mm in diameter) and the ball-shaped flames (2–4 mm in diameter; the combustion time of 4–6 ms) surrounding several particles are included. The ball-shaped flame appears as a faint flame in which several luminous spots are distributed, and then it turns into a luminous flame before disappearance. In order to distinguish these ball-shaped flames from others with some exceptions for merged flames, they are defined as independent flames in this study. The flame thickness in a lycopodium dust flame is observed to be 20 mm, about several orders of magnitude higher than that of a premixed gaseous flame. From the microscopic visualization, it was found that the flame front propagating through lycopodium particles is discontinuous and not smooth.     

Large-scale dust explosions in vessel-pipe systems

This study investigates dust explosions in vessel-pipe systems to develop a better understanding of dust flame propagation between interconnected vessels and implications for the proper application of explosion isolation systems. Cornstarch dust explosions were conducted in a large-scale setup consisting of a vented 8-m³ vessel and an attached pipe with a diameter of 0.4 m and a length of 9.8 m. The ignition location and effective dust reactivity were varied between experiments. The experimental results are compared against previous experiments with initially quiescent propane-air mixtures, demonstrating a significantly higher reactivity of the dust explosions due to elevated initial turbulence, leading to higher peak pressures and faster flame propagation. In addition, a physics-based model developed previously to predict gas explosion dynamics in vessel-pipe systems was extended for dust combustion. The model successfully predicts the pressure transients and flame progress recorded in the experiments and captures the effects of ignition location and effective dust reactivity.     

Study of dust cloud behaviour in the modified Hartmann tube using the image subtraction method (ISM)

A dispersion of fine particles in the air is needed for a dust explosion to occur since an explosion is the fast combustion of particles in the air. When particles are poorly dispersed, agglomerated, or their concentration is low, the combustion velocity decreases, and deflagration would not occur. The combustion rate is strictly related to dust concentration. Therefore, the maximum explosion pressure rise occurs at dust concentration close to stoichiometric. Conversely, Minimum Explosion Concentration (MEC) is the lower limit at which self-sustained combustion and a pressure rise are possible. Dust explosion tests are designed to reproduce the dispersion and generation of dust clouds in industrial ambiences by using dispersion devices activated by pressurised air pulses. The resulting dust cloud, which has a marked transient character, is considered representative of real clouds by current standards. Over time, several studies have been carried out to optimise these devices (e.g. to reduce the inhomogeneity of the cloud in the 20 L sphere). The Minimum Ignition Energy (MIE) of dust is measured using the Mike3 modified Hartmann tube, where the ignition attempt is made 60–180 ms after dust dispersion regardless of dust characteristics.This work investigates the dust clouds’ actual behaviour inside the modified Hartmann tube before ignition using high-velocity video movies and a new image post-treatment method called Image Subtraction Method (ISM). Movies are recorded with high-speed cameras at a framerate of 2000 fps and elaborated with an on-purpose developed LabVIEW® code. Concentration (mass per volume) and dispersion pressure are varied to evaluate their effect on dust clouds. Maise starch, iron powder and silica powder are chosen to investigate the effect of particle density and size on the cloud structure and turbulence. This approach will help to investigate the structure of the dust cloud, the shape and size of the particle lumps and the change in dust concentration over time. In addition, information on the actual concentration and cloud turbulence at the ignition location and delay time were obtained, which may help identify the local turbulence scale and widen the characterisation of the cloud generated in the Hartmann tube.     

A theoretical model for the prediction of the minimum ignition energy of dust clouds

In this study, a physical model of the dust cloud ignition process is developed for both cylindrical coordinates with a straight-line shaped ignition source and spherical coordinates with a point shaped ignition source. Using this model, a numerical algorithm for the calculation of the minimum ignition energy (MIE) is established and validated. This algorithm can evaluate MIEs of dusts and their mixtures with different dust concentrations and particle sizes. Although the average calculated cylindrical MIE (MIE_cylindrical) of the studied dusts only amounts to 63.9% of the average experimental MIE value due to reasons including high idealization of the numerical model and possible energy losses in the experimental tests, the algorithm with cylindrical coordinates correctly predicts the experimental MIE variation trends against particle diameter and dust concentration. There is a power function relationship between the MIE and particle diameter of the type MIE ∝ d_p^k with k being approximately 2 for cylindrical coordinates and 3 for spherical coordinates. Moreover, as dust concentration increases MIE(conc) first drops because of the decreasing average distance between particles and, at fuel-lean concentrations the increasing dust cloud combustion heat; however, after the dust concentration rises beyond a certain value, MIE(conc) starts to increase as a result of the increasingly significant heat sink effect from the particles and, at fuel-rich concentrations the no longer increasing dust cloud combustion heat.     

Structure of flames propagating through aluminum particles cloud and combustion process of particles

Structure of flames propagating through aluminum particles clouds and combustion processes of the particles have been examined experimentally to understand the fundamental behavior of a metal dust explosion. The combustion process of individual aluminum particles in a flame propagating through the aluminum particles cloud has been recorded by using a high-speed video camera with a microscopic optical system, and analyzed. The flame is shown to be consisted of a preheat zone of about 3 mm thick, followed by a combustion zone of 5–7 mm thick. In the combustion zone, discrete gas phase flames are observed around each aluminum particle. Also an asymmetric flame around a particle is observed, which might be caused by an ejection of aluminum vapor from a crack of oxide shell surrounding the particle.     

Visualization and analysis of dispersion process of combustible dust in a transparent Siwek 20-L chamber

Dust explosion severities are closely associated with dust dispersion behaviors. To characterize the dispersion process of dust cloud, visualization experiments were conducted by using a transparent Siwek 20-L chamber. Dispersion processes of typical carbonaceous dust were recorded by a high-speed camera and, with the image processing technique, the qualitative analysis based on the transmission of dust cloud was carried out. Results have evidenced the three consecutive stages of dust dispersion process: the fast injection stage of dust particles, the stabilization stage and the sedimentation stage of dust cloud. The motion of dust particles and the variations of dust cloud in space and time can be clearly distinguished. In the stabilization stage, the good uniformity of dust dispersion is achieved when the deviation of transmission data at different locations reaches to the minimum value. Under different nominal dust concentrations, the time periods for dust dispersion stabilization are found to be significantly different, suggesting that different dust concentrations should correspond to different ignition delay in order to accurately measure the explosion characteristics in the Siwek 20-L chamber. Moreover, it is found that the decrease trend of transmission with increasing nominal dust concentration will become gradually leveling off, different from the inversely proportional relationship according to the Bouguer's law, and this indicates that the actual dust concentration will be lower than the nominal concentration or the dust cannot be fully dispersed at the case of high dust concentration. According to the experiment, when the nominal dust concentration exceeds to 1000 g/m³, the transmission will no longer vary visibly.     

Experimental investigation on explosion flame propagation of wood dust in a semi-closed tube

In order to explore flame propagation characteristics during wood dust explosions in a semi-closed tube, a high-speed camera, a thermal infrared imaging device and a pressure sensor were used in the study. Poplar dusts with different particle size distributions (0–50, 50–96 and 96–180 μm) were respectively placed in a Hartmann tube to mimic dust cloud explosions, and flame propagation behaviors such as flame propagation velocity, flame temperature and explosion pressure were detected and analyzed. According to the changes of flame shapes, flame propagations in wood dust explosions were divided into three stages including ignition, vertical propagation and free diffusion. Flame propagations for the two smaller particles were dominated by homogeneous combustion, while flame propagation for the largest particles was controlled by heterogeneous combustion, which had been confirmed by individual Damköhler number. All flame propagation velocities for different groups of wood particles in dust explosions were increased at first and then decreased with the augmentation of mass concentration. Flame temperatures and explosion pressures were almost similarly changed. Dust explosions in 50–96 μm wood particles were more intense than in the other two particles, of which the most severe explosion appeared at a mass concentration of 750 g/m³. Meanwhile, flame propagation velocity, flame propagation temperature and explosion pressure reached to the maximum values of 10.45 m/s, 1373 °C and 0.41 MPa. In addition, sensitive concentrations corresponding to the three groups of particles from small to large were 500, 750 and 1000 g/m³, separately, indicating that sensitive concentration in dust explosions of wood particles was elevated with the increase of particle size. Taken together, the finding demonstrated that particle size and mass concentration of wood dusts affected the occurrence and severity of dust explosions, which could provide guidance and reference for the identification, assessment and industrial safety management of wood dust explosions.     

Experimental and numerical investigation of constant volume dust and gas explosions in a 3.6-m flame acceleration tube

This paper describes an experimental investigation of turbulent flame propagation in propane-air mixtures, and in mechanical suspensions of maize starch dispersed in air, in a closed vessel of length 3.6 m and internal cross-section 0.27 m × 0.27 m. The primary motivation for the work is to gain improved understanding of turbulent flame propagation in dust clouds, with a view to develop improved models and methods for assessing explosion risks in the process and mining industries. The study includes computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations with FLACS and DESC, for gas and dust explosions respectively. For initially quiescent propane-air mixtures, FLACS over-predicts the rate of combustion for fuel-lean mixtures, and under-predicts for fuel-rich mixtures. The simulations tend to be in better agreement with the experimental results for initially turbulent gaseous mixtures. The experimental results for maize starch vary significantly between repeated tests, but the subset of tests that yields the highest explosion pressures are in reasonable agreement with CFD simulations with DESC.