Application and effect of negative pressure chambers on pipeline explosion venting

Explosion venting is a frequently-used way to lower explosion pressure and accident loss. Recently, studies of vessel explosion venting have received much attention, while little attention has been paid to pipe explosion venting. This study researched the characteristics of explosion venting for Coal Bed Methane (CBM) transfer pipe, and proposed the way of explosion venting to chamber in order to avoid the influence of explosion venting on external environment, and investigated the effects of explosion venting to atmosphere and chamber. When explosion venting to atmosphere, the average explosion impulse 4.89 kPa s; when explosion venting to 0 MPa (atmospheric pressure) chamber, average explosion impulse is 7.52 kPa s; when explosion venting to −0.01 MPa chamber, explosion flame and pressure obviously drop, and average explosion impulse decreases to 4.08 kPa s; when explosion venting to −0.09 MPa chamber, explosion flame goes out and average explosion impulse is 1.45 kPa s. Thus, the effect of explosion venting to negative chamber is far better than that to atmospheric chamber. Negative chamber can absorb more explosion gas and energy, increase stretch of explosion flame, and eliminate free radical of gas explosion. All these can promote the effect of explosion venting to negative chamber.     

Influence of vacuum degree on the effect of gas explosion suppression by vacuum chamber

In order to study the influence of vacuum degree on gas explosion suppression by vacuum chamber, this study used the 0.2 mm thick polytetrafluoroethylene film as the diaphragm of vacuum chamber to carry out a series of experiments of gas explosion suppression by vacuum chamber with the vacuum degree from −0.01 MPa to −0.08 MPa. The experimental results show that: under the condition of any vacuum degree, vacuum chamber can effectively suppress the explosion flame and overpressure; as vacuum degree changes, the effect of gas explosion suppression using vacuum chamber is slightly different. Vacuum chamber has obvious influence on propagation characteristics of the explosion flame. After explosion flame passes by vacuum chamber, the flame signal weakens, the flame thickness becomes thicker, and the flame speed slows down. With the increase of the vacuum degree of vacuum chamber, the flame speed can be prevented from rising early by vacuum chamber. The higher the vacuum degree is, the more obviously the vacuum chamber attenuates the explosion overpressure, the smaller the average overpressure is, and the better effect of the gas explosion suppression is. Vacuum chamber can effectively weaken the explosion impulse under each vacuum degree. From the beginning of −0.01 MPa, the vacuum chamber can gradually weaken explosion impulse as the vacuum degree increases, and the effect of gas explosion suppression gradually becomes better. When the vacuum degree is greater than −0.04 MPa, the increase of vacuum degree can make the explosion overpressure decrease but have little influence on the explosion impulse. Therefore, the vacuum chamber has the preferable suppression effect with equal to or greater than −0.04 MPa vacuum degree.     

Effects of premixed methane concentration on distribution of flame region and hazard effects in a tube and a tunnel gas explosion

Study of flame distribution laws and the hazard effects in a tunnel gas explosion accident is of great importance for safety issue. However, it has not yet been fully explored. The object of present work is mainly to study the effects of premixed gas concentration on the distribution law of the flame region and the hazard effects involving methane-air explosion in a tube and a tunnel based on experimental and numerical results. The experiments were conducted in a tube with one end closed and the other open. The tube was partially filled with premixed methane-air mixture with six different premixed methane concentrations. Major simulation works were performed in a full-scale tunnel with a length of 1000 m. The first 56 m of the tunnel were occupied by methane–air mixture. Results show that the flame region is always longer than the original gas region in any case. Concentration has significant effects on the flame region distribution and the explosion behaviors. In the tube, peak overpressures and maximum rates of overpressure rise (dp/dt)_max for mixtures with lower and higher concentrations are great lower than that for mixtures close to stoichiometric concentration. Due to the gas diffusion effect, not the stoichiometric mixture but the mixture with a slightly higher concentration of 11% gets the highest peak overpressure and the shock wave speed along the tube. In the full-scale tunnel, for fuel lean and stoichiometric mixture, the maximum peak combustion rates is achieved before arriving at the boundary of the original methane accumulation region, while for fuel rich mixture, the maximum value appears beyond the region. It is also found that the flame region for the case of stoichiometric mixture is the shortest as 72 m since the higher explosion intensity shortens the gas diffusion time. The case for concentration of 13% can reach up to a longest value of 128 m for longer diffusion time and the abundant fuel. The “serious injury and death” zone caused by shock wave may reach up to 3–8 times of the length of the original methane occupied region, which is the widest damage region.     

An overpressure-time history model of methane-air explosion in tunnel-shape space

This study investigated methane-air explosion in tunnel-shape space and developed an overpressure-time history model based on numerical results. The findings revealed that for the progressively vented gas explosion with movable steel obstacles in a 20 m long tunnel, the inner peak overpressure increased as the activation pressure of the tunnel top cover got higher but remained below 6 bar. However, as the activation pressure increased to 8 bar or higher, the peak inner overpressure remained unchanged. As the segment cover panel became wider, the peak pressure was almost unchanged, but the pressure duration and impulse declined significantly. The peak pressure and impulse increased as the tunnel length vary from 10 to 30 m. With fixed tunnel length, higher blast pressure but lower impulse was observed as the inner obstacles were closer or the activation pressure of obstacles was higher. It is also found that a local enlarged space in the tunnel enhanced the peak pressure significantly. An overpressure time history model for the tunnel with fixed top cover and enlarged end zone was established. The model considered activation pressure of vent cover, area and length of vent opening, methane concentration, number and blockage ratio of fixed obstacles was developed to calculate the overpressure and corresponding time at characteristic points of the pressure-history curve. The cubic Hermite interpolation algorithm and a specially tuned formula consisting of the power and exponential function were used to interpolate pressure values between characteristic points. The proposed model can predict both the peak pressure and the overpressure time history with acceptable accuracy.     

Experimental study on unconfined methane explosion: Explosion characteristics and overpressure prediction method

Explosion accidents have become the main threat for the high-efficiency use of cleaner gas energy sources, such as natural gas. During an explosion, obstacle causing flame acceleration is the main reason for the increase of the explosion overpressure, which still remains to be fully understood. In this research, field experiments were conducted in a 1 m³ cubic frame apparatus to investigate the effect of built-in obstacles on unconfined methane explosion. Cage-like obstacles were constructed using square steel rods with different cross section size. The results demonstrated that the flame could get accelerated due to the hydrodynamic instability and obstacle-induced turbulence, which enhanced the explosion overpressure. In the near field, the overpressure wave travelled slower and the maximum overpressure could almost keep constant. Reducing the cross section size, or increasing the obstacle height or the obstacle number per layer could determine the rise of the maximum overpressure, the maximum pressure rising rate and the overpressure impulse. For uniformly constructed obstacles, self-similar theory was chosen to measure the influence of the hydrodynamic instability, and a parameter β was adopted to measure the flame acceleration caused by obstacle-induced turbulence, the value of which was 2 in this research. Based on the acoustic theory, an overpressure prediction model was proposed and the predicted results agreed with the measured values better than previous models, such as TNT equivalency model and TNO multi-energy model.     

Experimental study on methane explosion characteristics with different types of porous media

Porous media has a significant effect on flame and overpressure of methane explosion. In this paper, the pore diameter and thickness of porous media are studied. Nine experimental combinations of different pore diameter and thickness on the propagation of flame and overpressure of methane explosion in a tube are analyzed. The results show that the porous media not only can suppress the explosive flame propagation, but the porous media with large pore diameter can cause deflagration and accelerate the transition of flame from laminar to turbulent. The pore diameter of the porous media mainly determines the quenching of the flame. Simply increasing the thickness of porous media may cause the flame to temporarily stop propagating, but the flame is not completely extinguished for larger pore diameter. However, the deflagration propagation speed of flame is affected by the thickness. The attenuation of overpressure by porous media is mainly reflected in reducing the duration of overpressure and the peak value of overpressure. The smaller the pore diameter, the greater the thickness, and the more remarkable the reduction in overpressure duration and peak value. Suitable pore diameter and thickness of porous media can effectively suppress flame propagation and reduce the maximum value and duration of overpressure.     

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。     

点火位置对独头巷道中瓦斯爆炸超压的影响

运用AutoReaGas爆炸仿真模拟器研究了独头巷道中点火位置对瓦斯爆炸后果的影响。结果表明,在本计算条件下,爆炸静态超压随着距离的增加而减小,爆炸动压随着距离的增大而增大,点火位置对爆炸后果有重要影响,点火位置离封闭端越近,各个测点上所得到的超压越大。     

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 synergistic inhibition effect of nitrogen and ultrafine water mist on gas explosion in a vented duct

In this study, in order to research the synergistic inhibition effect of nitrogen and ultrafine water mist on gas explosion in a vented duct, a semi-confined transparent chamber was designed with the size of 120 × 120 × 840 mm, and the experiments were carried out with stoichiometric methane/air premixed mixture (fraction of methane: 9.5%), adding different fractions of nitrogen and ultrafine water mist. The experimental results showed the following: The combination of nitrogen and ultrafine water mist had a synergistic inhibiting effect on methane/air explosion, which was preferable to the single use of any kind. With the increase of spraying time of water mist and fraction of nitrogen, the initial shape of the explosion flame became snakelike, and at the same time the peak flame propagation speed and peak overpressure decreased significantly. When the nitrogen fraction was increased to 10% and the mist spraying time was increased to 2min, synergistic inhibiting effect on overpressure was high efficient. However, with the increase of spraying time of water mist and fraction of nitrogen going on, the amount of increase of explosion inhibition efficiency was gradually reduced.     

Study on the characteristics of gas explosion affected by induction charged water mist in confined space

To investigate the suppression effect of charged water mist on gas explosion, a small charged water mist generator and a gas explosion simulation device were designed based on the principle of electrostatic induction. Experiments for testing characteristics of the gas explosion in a confined space under different charged polarities, charged voltages and mist fluxes were carried out. Experimental results indicated that, compared with the normal water mist, the explosion peak overpressure and the flame propagation speed could be more effectively reduced by the charged water mist. And this suppression effect could be promoted by increasing the charged voltage. To visualize the effect of the charged water mist's polarity on gas explosion, comparative experiments were conducted. The results showed that the explosion peak overpressure, the overpressure rising rate, and the propagation speed of the flame were reduced by 64.7%, 33.0% and 19.4%, respectively, when a +8 kV charged voltage was applied. In situation where a -8 kV charged voltage was applied, 64.1%, 26.5% and 16.0% reductions were achieved for the explosion peak overpressure, the overpressure rising rate, and the flame propagation speed respectively. Comparison of this data leads to the conclusion that the gas explosion could be more efficiently suppressed by the positively charged water mist.     

Experimental study on the inhibition of methane/air explosion by modified attapulgite powder

In order to explore the influence of attapulgite powder on the methane explosion, a small-size semi-closed visual explosion experiment platform was built, and experiments were carried out. The effect of spraying powder on the whole process of methane explosion was studied when methane concentration was 7%, 8%, 9.5%, 11% and 12%, respectively. When the methane concentration was 11%, the maximum explosion overpressure dropped by modified spraying attapulgite powder was as high as 33.26%, and at the same time, the reduction rate of flame propagation velocity reached the maximum value of 36.65%. Furthermore, when the methane concentration was 9.5%, the experimental results when the powder spraying amount of modified attapulgite was 120 mg, 160 mg, 200 mg, 240 mg and 280 mg showed that when the powder spraying was 240 mg, the maximum explosive overpressure decreased by 33.14%, and the reduction rate of the peak flame propagation velocity reached the maximum value of 33.73%. Through the video images recorded by the high-speed camera, the flame structure, shape, color, etc. Were analyzed. The characterization analysis illustrated that the modified attapulgite powder has a small particle size, relatively large porosity and specific surface area. Also, it has a high weight loss rate. Combined with the results of characterization analysis, the explosion suppression mechanism of modified attapulgite powder was discussed. It was found that the modified attapulgite powder could effectively absorb the active free radicals generated in the explosion, and the modified new chemical components have a better thermal decomposition and endothermic effect and a better suppression of methane explosions.     

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。     

Experimental study on explosion characteristics of ethanol-gasoline blended fuels

In the present work, a series of experiments have been performed to analyze the explosion characteristics of ethanol-gasoline with various blended ratios (0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 30%, 50%, 70%, 80%, and 100%). A vented rectangular vessel with a cross-section of 100 mm × 100 mm, 600 mm long and a 40 mm diameter vent on the top is used to carry out the experiments. The flame propagation is recorded by a phantom high-speed camera with 5000 fps, while the histories of the explosion overpressure are measured by two PCB pressure sensors and the explosion sound pressure level is obtained by a CRY sound sensor. The results indicate that the maximum overpressure and flame propagation speed increases linearly as the blended ratio increases when the initial volume of blended fuel is 1.0 mL; While the change of explosion overpressure and flame propagation speed shows a trend of decreasing at first and then increasing as the concentration increases to 1.8 mL. It is also found that the peak of the sound pressure level exceeds 100 dB under all tests, which would damage the human's hearing. What's more, relationships between explosion overpressure and sound pressure level are examined, and the change of the maximum overpressure can be reflected to some extent by the measurement of the maximum sound pressure level. The study is significant to reveal the essential characteristic of the explosion venting process of ethanol-gasoline under different initial blended ratios, and the results would help deepen the understanding of ethanol-gasoline blended fuels explosion and the assessment of the explosion hazardous.     

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.     

Duct-venting of dust explosions in a 20 L sphere at elevated static activation overpressures

Ducts are often recommended in the design of dust explosion venting in order to discharge materials to safe locations. However, the maximum reduced overpressure increases in a duct-vented vessel rather than in a simply vented vessel. This needs to be studied further for understanding the duct-venting mechanism. Numerous duct-vented dust explosion experiments were conducted, using a 20 L spherical chamber at elevated static activation overpressures, ranging from 1.8 bar to 6 bar. Duct diameters of 15 mm and 28 mm, and duct lengths of 0 m (simply venting), 1 m and 2 m, were selected. Explosion pressures both in the vessel and in the duct were recorded by pressure sensors, with a frequency of 5 kHz. Flame signals in the duct were also obtained by phototransistors. Results indicate that the secondary explosion occurring in the duct increases the maximum reduced overpressure in the vessel. The secondary explosion is greatly affected by the duct diameter and static activation overpressure, and hence influences the amplification of the maximum reduced overpressure. Larger static activation overpressure decreases the severity of the secondary explosion, and hence decreases the increment in the maximum reduced overpressure. The secondary pressure peak is more obvious as the pressure accumulation is easier in a duct with a smaller diameter. However, the increment of the maximum reduced overpressure is smaller because blockage effect, flame front distortion, and turbulent mixing due to secondary explosion are weaker in a narrow duct. The influence of duct length on the maximum reduced overpressure is small at elevated static activation overpressures, ranging from 1.8 bar to 6 bar at 15 mm and 28 mm duct diameters.     

Influence of laneway support spacing on methane/air explosion shock wave

A laneway support system provides an available way to solve problems related to ground movements in underground coal mines, but also poses another potential hazard. Once a methane/air explosion occurs in a laneway, inappropriate design parameters of the support system, especially the support spacing, likely have a negative influence on explosion disaster effects. The commercial software package AutoReaGas, a computational fluid dynamics code suitable for gas explosions, was used to carry out the numerical investigation for the methane/air explosion and blast process in a straight laneway with different support spacing. The validity of the numerical method was verified by the methane/air explosion experiment in a steel tube. Laneway supports can promote the development of turbulence and explosion, and also inhibit the propagation of flame and shock wave. For the design parameters in actual laneway projects, the fluid dynamic drag due to the laneway support plays a predominant role in a methane/air explosion. There is an uneven distribution of the peak overpressure on the same cross section in the laneway, and the largest overpressure is near the laneway walls. Different support spacing can cause obvious differences for the distributions of the shock wave overpressure and impulse. Under comparable conditions, the greater destructive effects of explosion shock wave are seen for the laneway support system with larger spacing. The results presented in this work provide a theoretical basis for the optimized design of the support system in coal laneways and the related safety assessments.     

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.     

Experimental research on methane/air explosion inhibition using ultrafine water mist containing methane oxidizing bacteria

In order to deeply understand the inhibitory effect of ultrafine water mist containing methane-oxidizing bacteria on methane explosion, a small-sized semi-closed visual experimental platform was built. Five different application mist amounts (0.7 mL, 2.1 mL, 3.5 mL, 4.9 mL, 6.3 mL) of ultrafine water mist containing methane-oxidizing bacteria on 9.5% methane explosion were studied experimentally. Ultrafine water mist was generated by the ultrasonic atomization generator, and mist size was measured by a winner319 laser particle size analyzer. During the methane explosion, a high-frequency pressure sensor collected pressure change data, and a high-speed camera recorded the flame development process. The results indicated that the maximum explosion overpressure (ΔP_max) decreased with time, and the arrival time of the maximum explosion overpressure (ΔP_max) delayed. The appearance time of the “tulip” shaped flame delayed, and the flame propagation speed decreased. The ultrafine water mist and deposition can effectively inhibit the methane explosion. The explosion suppression effect of the second step spraying water mist was better. The improvement of the explosion suppression effect of the ultrafine water mist containing methane-oxidizing bacteria was attributed to the degradation effect of the methane-oxidizing bacteria. Under long-term degradation, methane-oxidizing bacteria in water mist play a role in inhibiting methane explosion.     

Pressure characteristics and dynamic response of coal mine refuge chamber with underground gas explosion

Coal mine refuge chambers are new devices for coal mine safety which can provide basic survival conditions after gas explosion. In order to simulate the propagation of underground methane/air mixture blast wave, and check structural safety of coal mine mobile refuge chamber, an underground tunnel model and a refuge chamber model have been established based on explicit nonlinear dynamic ANSYS/LS-DYNA 970 program. Results show that the reflected wave pressure on the impact surface was about two times higher than that on the incident one. The relationship between the pressure fields of the chamber was analyzed. The maximum pressure of gas explosion reached about 0.71 MPa, and the pulse width was 360 ms. The maximum absolute displacement and stress occurs at the main door center and the connection of stiffeners and the front plate, respectively. The entire coal mine mobile refuge chamber was in elastic state and its strength and stiffness meet the safety requirements. The cabin door, the front plate and the connecting flange at cabin back as well as the stiffeners on each side were the most critical components. Suggestions were put forward for the refuge chamber.