Experiments and numerical simulation on methane flame quenching by water mist

The study of extinguishment using water mist has been motivated due to the phase-out of the use of halens and the search for alternative means that preserve all of the benefits of a clean total flooding agent without adverse environmental impact. With the numerical simulation, we analyzed a gas–liquid two-phase problem including water (liquid), air and methane (gas) using Eulerian equations for the liquid phase and the full Navier–Stokes equations for the gas phase. Gaseous mass, momentum and energy equations are integrated simultaneously by a Harten–Yee explicit non-MUSCL modified-flux type TVD scheme for the convective terms and a central difference scheme for the viscous terms. Liquid phase conservation equations are solved with an application of a flux-vector-splitting scheme. In the experiments in an open room (500×500×500 mm) we observed an interaction of the diffusion flame with the water mists. The results show remarkable flame quenching and a good agreement between the numerical and experimental results.     

Impact of local flame quenching on the flame acceleration in H2-CO-air mixtures in obstructed channels

In accident scenarios originating from weak ignition, flame acceleration preconditions the fresh gas ahead of the flame front and provides the necessary conditions for deflagration-to-detonation transition to occur. Strong shear layers, which form at the rear edge of obstacles in the accelerated flow of fast flames, isolate fresh gas pockets. Vortices in the intense shear layer have the potential to locally quench the flame, limiting the integral heat release and delaying the onset of detonation.This study investigates the potential of local turbulent quenching in H${}_2$-CO-air mixtures. First, the presence of locally reduced heat release is visualized in highly resolved simulations for H${}_2$-air and H${}_2$-CO-air flames. Efficient simulation methods are of great importance for risk analysis studies. In connection with the results from highly resolved simulations this justifies a more detailed look at RANS-based combustion models for said flames. Thus, three different treatments of turbulent quenching are investigated, in which the geometrical configuration (blockage ratio and obstacle spacing) and the geometry size is varied.The results indicate that quenching does not need to be considered in RANS-based combustion models for H${}_2$-CO-air flames in explosion scenarios. But since quenching does eventually occur at very high turbulence intensities, the authors suggest limiting the flame turbulence interaction to flame stretch values obtained from 1D counter-flow flame simulations with detailed chemistry.     

泡沫金属对甲烷/空气爆燃火焰的淬熄实验研究

为研究多孔材料对甲烷/空气预混气体爆燃火焰的抑制淬熄效果,运用一套自主设计的管道爆炸抑制系统进行实验研究。在实验中运用高速摄像机记录爆燃火焰在穿过多孔材料板时的淬熄过程,采用20,40,60,80PPI (孔目数) 的4种多孔材料,研究不同孔目数的多孔材料对爆燃火焰传播的形态结构、火焰传播速度以及抑制淬熄等特性的影响。结果表明:多孔材料的孔目数对爆燃火焰传播的早期阶段影响较小,爆燃火焰都经历了半球形火焰和指形火焰阶段;当火焰传播到多孔材料板时,孔目数越大对火焰的降速作用越强,80PPI工况下爆燃火焰不能穿过多孔材料板,即发生淬熄。实验结果揭示了多孔材料对火焰的淬熄作用与微孔通道和火焰的相互作用有关。     

Experimental study on the competing effect of ceramic pellets on premixed methane-air flame propagation in a duct

It is urgent to explore effective suppression methods for gas fires and explosions to ensure the safe utilizations of combustible gases in industrial processes. In this work, experiments are performed to study the effect of spherical ceramic pellets on premixed methane-air flame propagation in a closed duct. High-speed schlieren photography and pressure transducers are used to record the flame propagation and pressure transient, respectively. Behaviors of the flame propagating through a section of the duct filled with ceramic pellets in mixtures at different equivalence ratios are scrutinized. Three different diameters of pellets are considered in the experiments. The result shows that the flame can be quenched in the case with a smaller pellet diameter (3 mm) for a wide range of equivalence ratios from fuel-lean to fuel-rich mixture. For larger pellet diameter (5 or 10 mm), flame extinction occurs in fuel-rich mixtures (e.g. Φ = 1.1, 1.2). For the cases of flame surviving through the pellets bed, the pellets show a significant influence on the flame structure and behavior. The flame propagation depends on the porosity and the mean void diameter of the porous media in the pellets bed. Small void diameter is beneficial to flame quenching, while large porosity can accelerate the flame propagation. The pressure dynamics evolution is closely related to the interaction of flame with the pellets, and it depends on whether the flame quenches in the pellets bed. Overall, d = 3 mm ceramic pellets display the best suppression effect on flame propagation and pressure buildup in this study. The results of this study are of great significance to guide the safety design of spherical suppression materials in engineering applications for process safety researchers and engineers.