Flame acceleration in pipes containing bends of different angles

Bend structures are common in process industries. These bends containing three typical angles (90°, obtuse angle and acute angle) are often incorporated into pipes or ducts at different positions. In our experiments, the effect of both the bend angle and bend position on flame acceleration was studied. Flame acceleration in a pipe bend can be divided into three stages. The flame speeds increased before the bend and increased again after decreasing for a short distance in the bend. Flame reversing decreased the flame speeds in the bend and led to additional turbulence, which enhanced flame acceleration after the bend. The flame acceleration in three different pipe bend angles had similar trends. The decreasing amplitude of the flame speed in the bend increased with a decrease in the bend angles. The flame speeds in the bend were ordered such that 52° <90° <145°. However, the maximum flame speeds in the pipe were in the opposite order. Additionally, both the flame speeds in the bends and the maximum flame speeds in the whole pipes increased as the bend’s position away from ignition point increased.     

Premixed methane-air deflagrations in a completely adiabatic pipe and the effect of the condition of the pipe wall

A completely adiabatic pipe that is similar to a coal-mine coal or rock roadway was simulated using the computational software AutoReaGas. A partially adiabatic pipe was established using an experimental steel pipe with heat-insulating material installed in the inner wall, and a non-adiabatic pipe was also established using the experimental steel pipe without the heat-insulating material. Premixed methane/air deflagrations were studied in the three types of pipe to reveal the influence of the condition of the pipe wall on gas explosions. The results showed that in the completely adiabatic pipe, the maximum explosion overpressure was dynamic and decreased and increased with increasing distance; however, the flame-propagation speed increased gradually. In the partially adiabatic pipe and the non-adiabatic pipe, the maximum explosion overpressure and flame-propagation speed increased initially and then gradually decreased with increasing distance. The majority of explosion overpressure and flame-propagation speed values at each gauge in the completely adiabatic pipe were larger than those of the partially adiabatic pipe. Both measurements at each gauge in the partially adiabatic pipe were much greater than those of the non-adiabatic pipe. The condition of the pipe wall has a large influence on the maximum explosion overpressure and the flame-propagation speed. In future explosion experiments, heat insulating materials should be installed in the inner wall of steel pipes to obtain data for application to the prevention and control of gas explosions in underground coal mines.     

综合管廊燃气舱燃气爆炸冲击波传播特征研究*

为研究综合管廊燃气舱燃气爆炸冲击波的传播特征,采用数值模拟方法研究首次超压峰值和首次流速峰值的变化规律,建立首次流速峰值与首次超压峰值和填充长度的耦合关系,分析不同填充长度情况下燃气爆炸后的超压和水平流速的变化规律。结果表明:燃气爆炸后,燃气舱内存在多个超压峰值,峰值间存在明显的时间差。冲击波到达各测点的时间与燃气填充长度成反比关系。水平流速曲线随着时间的变化以0为基点上下振荡,存在正向峰值和反向峰值。随着燃气填充长度的增加,流速下降趋势变快。首次超压峰值随传播距离的增加先增大后减小再增大,随着填充长度的增加,产生超压峰值最大值的位置由接近填充长度结束的位置转移到燃气舱封闭端。首次流速峰值随传播距离的增加先增大后减小。首次流速峰值与首次超压峰值呈现正比关系,通过拟合得到流速峰值与超压峰值及填充长度的耦合关系。研究结果可为燃气舱燃气爆炸后的流速分布研究以及燃气舱防火分区的设计提供参考。     

障碍物在分岔附近对瓦斯爆炸压力影响的实验研究*

为研究置障条件下不同分岔角度管道中瓦斯爆炸压力变化规律,采用长15 m、截面为160 mm×100 mm的矩形和直径160 mm的半圆形组成的拱形模拟巷道,通过改变分岔角附近障碍物的形状与阻塞比,研究瓦斯爆炸在30~45°与30~60°双分岔管道分岔角附近的压力变化规律。结果表明:瓦斯爆炸在30~45°和30~60°双分岔管道中,分岔角后2支管压力均有所增大,且45°和60°支管中压力变化较30°支管更加明显;障碍物位于30°分岔角后,当阻塞比为0.4时,障碍物形状对2~4测点爆炸压力的影响均表现为矩形最大,拱形次之,圆形最小;管道中矩形障碍物对2,3测点爆炸压力的影响随阻塞比增加而增大,对测点4爆炸压力的影响则随阻塞比的增加而减小;设置矩形障碍物时,30~45°双分岔管道中2,3测点的压力增幅大于30~60°双分岔管道,且压力增幅随阻塞比增加而增大,而测点4的表现则相反,30~60°双分岔管道大于30~45°双分岔管道,且压力增幅随阻塞比增加而减小。     

Effects of obstacles and deposited coal dust on characteristics of premixed methane–air explosions in a long closed pipe

An experimental system including pressure transducer, electric spark ignition device, data acquisition and control unit was set up to investigate methane–air explosions in a horizontal pipe closed at both ends with or without the presence of obstacles and deposited coal dust. The experimental results show that explosion characteristics depended on the methane content, on the layout of obstacles, and on the deposited coal dust. Pressure fluctuation with a frequency of 150 Hz appeared in its crest when the methane content was close to the stoichiometric ratio (9.5% methane percentage by volume). The pressure rise rate increased locally when a single obstacle was mounted in the pipe, but it had little effect on the pressure peak. Repeated obstacles mounted in the pipe caused the pressure to rise sharply, and the mean maximum explosion overpressure increased with the increase of the obstacle’s number. The amplitude of pressure fluctuation was reduced when deposited coal dust was paved in the bottom of the pipe. However, when repeated obstacles were arranged inside, the maximum overpressures were higher with coal dust deposited than pure gas explosions.     

综合管廊燃气舱结构形式对燃气爆炸超压的影响*

为研究地下综合管廊燃气舱结构形式对燃气爆炸超压的影响,采用数值模拟的方法,改变燃气舱高度,通风分区长度和局部开口大小,分析不同情况下的燃气爆炸超压变化规律。结果表明:冲击波传播速度随燃气舱高度的增加而减小,随着高度的增加,超压峰值曲线由“驼峰状”逐渐变为两端高中间低的“盆形”,爆炸过程产生的最大超压与高度成反比关系。超压峰值在340 m处接近0 kPa,延长通风分区并不会增加超压峰值,可以在考虑防火的要求下根据实际情况适当延长通风分区的长度。局部开口的存在使得爆炸气流能够自由泄压,超压峰值与开口的大小成反比关系。     

The acceleration of flames in tube explosions with two obstacles as a function of the obstacle separation distance

The separation distance (or pitch) between two successive obstacles or rows of obstacles is an important parameter in the acceleration of flame propagation and increase in explosion severity. Whilst this is generally recognised, it has received little specific attention by investigators. In this work a vented cylindrical vessel 162 mm in diameter 4.5 m long was used to study the effect of separation distance of two low blockage (30%) obstacles. The set up was demonstrated to produce overpressure through the fast flame speeds generated (i.e. in a similar mechanism to vapour cloud explosions). A worst case separation distance was found to be 1.75 m which produced close to 3 bar overpressure and a flame speed of about 500 m/s. These values were of the order of twice the overpressure and flame speed with a double obstacle separated 2.75 m (83 characteristic obstacle length scales) apart. The profile of effects with separation distance was shown to agree with the cold flow turbulence profile determined in cold flows by other researchers. However, the present results showed that the maximum effect in explosions is experienced further downstream than the position of maximum turbulence determined in the cold flow studies. It is suggested that this may be due to the convection of the turbulence profile by the propagating flame. The present results would suggest that in many previous studies of repeated obstacles the separation distance investigated might not have included the worst case set up, and therefore existing explosion protection guidelines may not be derived from worst case scenarios.     

泄爆面特征参数对天然气爆炸超压峰值的影响规律

为揭示泄爆面特征参数对大尺度受限空间内天然气爆炸超压峰值结构的影响机制,基于典型房间特征,借助计算流体动力学技术研究不同泄爆面开启压力、开启时间以及泄压比等参数条件下室内天然气泄爆超压峰值结构的分布规律。研究结果表明:峰值Pb随开启压力和开启时间增加均呈线性增长趋势,而泄压比对Pb影响较小;峰值Pmfa与室内最大火焰面积有关,随开启压力、开启时间的增加和泄压比的减小,气体出流速度增大,进而产生更强的湍流,导致室内火焰面积和气体燃烧率增加,最终Pmfa增大;峰值Pext随泄压比增加呈快速降低趋势,同时开启压力和开启时间对Pext影响具有协同效应,共同促进Pext快速增加。     

不同曲率弯曲巷道爆炸冲击波传播特性数值模拟研究

为研究爆炸冲击波在不同曲率弯曲巷道内的传播规律,采用数值模拟手段建立了不同曲率弯曲巷道爆炸模型,分析了爆炸冲击波在巷道内的传播特性及其变化规律, 并结合冲击波超压对人体的伤害程度分类,研究了不同曲率弯曲巷道内爆炸破坏效应分区。模拟结果表明,弯曲角度改变了巷道内冲击波超压分布,随着巷道弯曲角度的不断增大,壁面反射对冲击波超压峰值分布起主要作用,随着传播距离的增加,冲击波超压峰值衰减显著,体现了超压峰值变化的距离效应。此外,巷道弯曲角度的增加整体减小了爆炸损伤严重程度。研究结果可实现对不同曲率弯曲巷道内冲击波超压分布的预测,并为巷道内爆炸事故预防及应急救援提供借鉴。     

LES – DFSD modelling of vented hydrogen explosions in a small-scale combustion chamber

Accidental explosions are a plausible danger to the chemical process industries. In the event of a gas explosion, any obstacles placed within the path of the flame generate turbulence, which accelerates the transient flame and raises explosion overpressure, posing a safety hazard. This paper presents numerical studies using an in-house computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model for lean premixed hydrogen/air flame propagations with an equivalence ratio of 0.7. A laboratory-scale combustion chamber is used with repeated solid obstacles. The transient compressible large eddy simulation (LES) modelling technique combined with a dynamic flame surface density (DFSD) combustion model is used to carry out the numerical simulations in three-dimensional space. The study presented uses eight different baffle configurations with two solid obstructions, which have area blockage ratios of 0.24 and 0.5. The flame speed, maximum rate of pressure-rise as well as peak overpressure magnitude and timing are presented and discussed. Numerical results are validated against available published experimental data. It is concluded that, increasing the solid obstacle area blockage ratio and the number of consecutive baffles results in a raised maximum rate of pressure rise, higher peak explosion overpressure and faster flame propagation. Future model development would require more experimental data, probably in a more congested configuration.     

Influence of built-in obstacles on unconfined vapor cloud explosion

The obstacle structure in the vapor cloud has a significant influence on the gas explosion. Obstacles could not only lead to the acceleration of flame, but also they may occupy some space, thus affecting the amount of combustible gas. In this paper, a new two-step method was proposed to respectively study the effects of the obstacles amount and volume blockage ratio (VBR) on the gas explosion by using Computation Fluid Dynamic software AutoReaGas, and the obstacles in the vapor cloud were set to “Solid” instead of “Subgrid”. Based on the results and analysis, it is found that the peak overpressure and the maximum combustion rate rise with the increase of the number of obstacles for a single VBR, which indicated that the vapor cloud explosion of more obstacles was more dangerous for a single VBR. However, under a single number of obstacles, the peak overpressure and the maximum combustion rate increase firstly and then decrease as VBR increases and reach the highest at the VBR of 0.74, which indicated that the intensity of vapor cloud explosion reach a peak at a certain VBR in the middle instead of the largest. In addition, the existence and structure of obstacles have little effect on the size of explosion fireball when the size and concentration of combustible gas cloud are the same.     

挡气板对综合管廊燃气舱爆炸冲击波传播规律影响研究

为研究挡气板对综合管廊燃气舱爆炸冲击波传播影响规律,采用Fluent模拟软件,研究三维燃气舱模型中不同挡气板间距下燃气爆炸后超压变化规律,探究不同间距挡气板对抑制燃气舱内爆炸冲击波传播效果.结果表明:挡气板对燃气舱中部超压影响较小,对顶部超压变化影响较大,导致燃气舱顶部挡气板处超压峰值激增;当气体填充区长20 m,挡气...     

Numerical simulation of blast wave oscillation effects on a premixed methane/air explosion in closed-end ducts

This paper investigated the effects of blast wave oscillation on the overpressure of premixed methane/air explosions by numerical simulations and experiments. The AutoReaGas 3D code and a duct were used in the study. The oscillation induced by the repeat reflection of a blast wave in a closed-end duct was observed by high-speed camera. There was an oscillation zone in the blast wave which exhibited some saw-toothed characteristics. This explained why the overpressure in closed-end ducts was higher than that in open-end ducts. In addition, some of the peak overpressure was even higher than the C–J pressure of 1.76 MPa. The peak overpressures at the ducts' ends were higher than at other measurement points for 5 m, 10 m, and 15 m long ducts. This was mainly due to the reflection of the blast wave. The oscillating period increased with increasing duct length, and could be calculated by t = 0.0003 + 0.00198 L. However, the duct's diameter had no significant influence on the oscillation's period. The amplitude increased with increases in the duct length, except for the case of a 20 m long duct, and increased with decreases in the ducts' diameter. In addition, the peak overpressures in ducts of the same length/diameter ratio were similar. The peak overpressure increased with the increase of the length/diameter ratio, and the maximum value of the peak overpressure in the ducts had the same trend. However, the overpressure did not increase when the length/diameter ratio reached 250.     

Experimental study on water sealing of fire barriers and explosion venting of large-scale pipeline with low-concentration gas

Low-concentration gas transported in pipelines may lead to explosion accidents because gas with a concentration of less than 30% is prone to explode. To reduce the incidence of gas explosions, water sealing of fire barriers is implemented, and explosion venting devices are installed along the pipeline. To investigate their suppression effect on low-concentration gas explosion, experiments using methane–air premixed gas under different conditions were implemented on a DN500 pipeline test system. The effects of three types of explosion venting forms (rupture disc, asbestos board, and plastic film) on explosion overpressure and flame were compared and analysed. Results show that the rupture disc, asbestos board, and plastic film can achieve adequate explosion venting, causing the peak decay rates of explosion overpressure to reach 82.37%, 81.72%, and 90.79%, respectively. The foregoing indicates that the greater the static activation pressure of the explosion venting form, the higher the peak explosion overpressure at each measurement point. Moreover, the shorter the explosion flame duration, the greater the flame propagation velocity. The research results provide an essential theoretical foundation for the effective suppression of gas explosion accidents in the process of low-concentration gas transportation.     

Experimental study on the feasibility of explosion suppression by vacuum chambers

In view of the invalidity of suppression and isolation apparatus for gas explosion, a closed vacuum chamber structure for explosion suppression with a fragile plane was designed on the base of the suction of vacuum. Using methane as combustible gas, a series of experiments on gas explosion were carried out to check the feasibility of the vacuum chamber suppressing explosion by changing methane concentration and geometric structure of the vacuum chamber. When the vacuum chamber was not connected to the tunnel, detonation would happen in the tunnel at methane volume fraction from 9.3% to 11.5%, with flame propagation velocity exceeding 2000 m/s, maximum peak value overpressure reaching 0.7 MPa, and specific impulse of shock wave running up to 20 kPa s. When the vacuum chamber with 5/34 of the tunnel volume was connected to the flank of the tunnel, gas explosion of the same concentration would greatly weaken with flame propagation velocity declining to about 200 m/s, the quenching distance decreasing to 3/4 of the tunnel length, maximum peak value overpressure running down to 0.1-0.15 MPa and specific impulse of shock wave below 0.9 kPa s. The closer the position accessed to the ignition end, the greater explosion intensity weakened. There was no significant difference between larger section and smaller vacuum chambers in degree of maximum peak value overpressure and specific impulse declining, except that quenching fire effect of the former was superior to the latter. The distance of fire quenching could be improved by increasing the number of the vacuum chambers.     

Numerical investigation and analysis of indoor gas explosion: A case study of “6·13” major gas explosion accident in Hubei Province,China

Taking the ' 6·13 ′ major gas explosion accident in Shiyan, Hubei Province, China as an example, three problems were studied in this work: (1)The determination of the volume of natural gas involved in the explosion; (2)The propagation process of shock wave inside the building and the damage evolution process of the accident-related building; (3)The overpressure and fragment injury to the person outside the building. Through the numerical simulation in ANSYS/LS-DYNA software, the volume of natural gas involved in the explosion is determined to be 10240 × 1400 × 400 cm (length × width × height) from three perspectives: the damage to the building, the distribution of overpressure inside the building, and the TNT equivalent of the explosion energy. The simulation results are in good line with the accident, which verifies the effectiveness of the scheme and the accuracy of the numerical model. Based on the reasonable filling scheme, the propagation process of shock waves inside the building, the damage evolution process of the building, and the injury ranges of overpressure and fragments outside the building are analyzed. It can be found that the propagation of shock waves in confined space is complex and variable. The explosion shock waves are first reflected and superimposed in the watercourse, resulting in pressure rise. At about 8ms, the shock waves rushed into the first-floor space of the building, and the maximum overpressure was about 0.56 MPa. At about 50 ms, the shock waves rushed into the second-floor space, and the maximum overpressure was about 0.139 MPa. The first and second-floor slabs and infilled walls were almost completely destroyed. The interior walls of the infilled walls are mainly collapsed, and the exterior walls are ejection around the building as the center. The peak displacement and peak velocity of the interior walls of each floor are about 15% of the exterior walls. The fragments which cause fragment injury mainly come from the retaining wall above the watercourse, the maximum velocity is about 89 m/s, and the maximum displacement is 8.9 m. The safety distance of fragment injury is about 8.8 m, while the safety distance of overpressure injury is about 4.6 m. The lethal distance of fragment injury is greater than that of overpressure injury. Compared with the distance between different damage levels of overpressure injury, the difference in fragment injury is small. Therefore, the safety assessment at the engineering level only needs to consider the safety distance of fragment injury. This study can provide suggestions for evaluating the damage of natural gas cloud explosions in confined spaces and is helpful for accident investigation and safety protection.     

Flame acceleration in tube explosions with up to three flat-bar obstacles with variable obstacle separation distance

The effect of obstacle separation distance on the severity of gas explosions has received little methodical study. It was the aim of this work to investigate the influence of obstacle spacing of up to three flat-bar obstacles. The tests were performed using methane-air (10% by vol.), in an elongated vented cylindrical vessel 162 mm internal diameter with an overall length-to-diameter, L/D, of 27.7. The obstacles had either 2 or 4 flat-bars and presenting 20% blockage ratio to the flow path. The different number of flat-bars for the same blockage achieved a change of the obstacle scale which was also part of this investigation. The first two obstacles were kept at the established optimum spacing and only the spacing between the second and third obstacles was varied. The profiles of maximum flame speed and overpressure with separation distance were shown to agree with the cold flow turbulence profile determined in cold flows by other researchers. However, the present results showed that the maximum effect in explosions is experienced at 80 to 100 obstacle scales about 4 times further downstream than the position of maximum turbulence determined in the cold flow studies. Similar trends were observed for the flames speeds. In both cases the optimum spacing between the second and third obstacles corresponded to the same optimum spacing found for the first two obstacles demonstrating that the optimum separation distance does not change with number of obstacles. In planning the layout of new installations, the worst case separation distance needs to be avoided but incorporated when assessing the risk to existing set-ups. The results clearly demonstrate that high congestion in a given layout does not necessarily imply higher explosion severity as traditionally assumed. Less congested but optimally separated obstructions can lead to higher overpressures.     

Effects of vent layout and vent area on dynamic characteristics of premixed methane-air explosion in a tube with two side-vented ducts

To further elucidate the influence mechanism of side vents on the dynamic characteristics of gas explosions in tubes is helpful to design more reasonable vent layouts. In this paper, 9.5% methane-air explosion experiments were conducted in a tube with two side-vented ducts, and the effects of vent layouts and vent areas on the dynamic characteristics of explosion overpressure and flame propagation speed were investigated. The results demonstrate that under the same condition with a single vent area of 100 mm × 100 mm, when only the end vent is open, the maximum explosion overpressure and the maximum flame propagation speed are the highest among the five vent layouts. When the side vents 1 and 2 and the end vent are open, the maximum explosion overpressure is the lowest, and an unusual discovery is that the flame front changes into a hemispherical shape, finger shape, quasi-plane shape, tulip shape and wrinkled structure. When only side vent 1 is open, a unique Helmholtz oscillation occurs, and a new discovery is that there is a consistent oscillation relationship among the overpressure, flame propagation speed and flame structure. Helmholtz oscillation occurs only when a single vent area is 100 mm × 100 mm–60 mm × 60 mm, and the oscillation degree decreases with decreasing vent area. During the vent failure stage, the maximum explosion overpressure is generated, the flame front begins to appear irregular shape, and the flame propagation speed shows a prominent characteristic peak. After the vent failure stage, the driving effect of the end vent on the flame is higher than that of the side vent on the flame. Furthermore, the correlation equations of the mathematical relationships among the maximum explosion overpressure P_red, the static activation pressure P_stat and the vent coefficient K_v under four vent layouts are established, respectively.     

Insight into vented explosion mechanism and premixed flame dynamics in linked vessels: Influence of membrane thickness and blocking rate

To effectively prevent and mitigate explosion hazards and casualties, relief venting of flammable gas explosions has been applied in production processes in a broad variety of industries. This work conducted fully vented experiments to investigate the influence of venting membrane thickness, and partially vented experiments to investigate the influence of baffle blocking rate on the explosion characteristics of 9.5 vol% methane-air mixtures in linked vessels with a 0.5 m long vented duct. Results indicate that the membrane thickness and blocking rate for the two types of vented explosions significantly affected the explosion overpressure. The smaller the membrane thickness and blocking rate, the lower the explosion overpressure. Secondary explosions were observed in the vented duct through experiments and a weaker explosion flame appeared at a small blocking rate of 20%. With the further increase in the blocking rate, the flame became extremely weak, and no secondary explosions occurred. The overpressure evolution process at different positions in the explosion duct and secondary explosion phenomenon in the vented duct were investigated. This work could probably serve as an important reference for the selection of technical parameters of explosion venting in the practical industrial processes.     

T型管道不同封闭状态瓦斯爆燃火焰传播特征

为了研究分岔管道不同封闭状态下瓦斯爆燃火焰阵面传播规律,在自制的T型透明分岔管道内,设置支管端口完全封闭、直管左端口弱封闭,采用光电传感器和压力传感器测试了直管右端弱封闭、完全封闭2种情况下,预混甲烷-空气可燃气体爆燃火焰传播过程中速度、超压参数的变化情况。结果表明:由于分岔的存在,2种封闭状态在支管端点火后瓦斯爆燃火焰阵面在支管中的传播速度均先增大后减小;直管右端弱封闭时,经过分岔后火焰加速向直管两端传播速度基本一致,分别达到86.29 m/s和88.07 m/s;直管右端完全封闭时,火焰向弱封闭端传播速度增大至166.67 m/s,火焰向完全封闭端传播时并不断压缩未燃气体产生高压振荡反馈导致火焰振荡传播现象,火焰速度不断减小至4.84 m/s;管道内瓦斯爆燃超压均迅速上升到达峰值,之后受压缩气体的膨胀和冲击后爆燃产物的振荡作用迅速下降。