Coupling effects of foam ceramics on the flame and shock wave of gas explosion

The coupling of gas explosion flame and shock wave is analyzed. In the gas explosion process, shock wave is affected by the flame directly, and shock wave also induces the flame. Inhibiting explosion can be achieved by the interference between the flame and shock wave propagation. If the coupling effects can be damaged, the adverse effects caused by the explosion should be mitigated and controlled. According to the structure characteristics of foam ceramics, the coupling effects mechanism of ceramic foam on gas explosion flame and shock wave is researched. When the explosion goes through the structure of foam ceramics, the flame can be quenched and the shock wave be attenuated. After the flame is quenched, the supply of precursor shock wave energy is cut off. Due to lack of energy supply, the destructive effects of blast wave will be reduced effectively. Coupling effects of the flame and shock wave can be damaged by the special structure of foam ceramics. Studies suggest that a certain function to represent the structure characteristics of foam ceramics must exist. For a certain material of foam ceramics, the sure porosity δ and the pore diameter d also can be get, which is the key to research and develop foam ceramic suppression technology of gas explosion.     

Experimental study on the fractal characteristic of methane explosion flame

In this paper flame microstructures and propagation characteristic of methane explosion are studied by high speed schlieren photography technique. By experiment it shows that flame front surface and inner flow field of methane explosion has distinctly fractal characteristic, the effect of the wrinkle of flame front surface and inner reactants on flame propagation can be directly reflect by fractal dimensions. Fractal dimension has a direct relation to flame structure and flame propagation characteristics, and it is the important parameter to scale the flame propagation velocity and flame temperature.     

Experimental study on CO2/CF3I suppression of methane-air explosion and flame propagation

To explore the inhibitory effects of CF₃I and CO₂ gas on the explosion pressure and flame propagation characteristics of 9.5% methane, a spherical 20 L experimental explosion device was used to study the effect of the gas explosion suppressants on the maximum explosion pressure, maximum explosion pressure rise rate and flame propagation speed of methane. The results indicated that with a gradual increase in the volume fraction of the gas explosion suppressant, the maximum explosion pressure of methane and maximum explosion pressure rise rate gradually decreased, and the time taken to reach the maximum explosion pressure and maximum explosion pressure rise rate was gradually delayed. At the same time, the flame propagation speed gradually decreased. Additionally, the time taken for the flame to reach the edge of the window and the time taken for a crack as well as a cellular structure to appear on the flame surface was gradually delayed. The fluid dynamics uncertainty was suppressed. The explosion pressure and flame propagation processes were markedly suppressed, but the flame buoyancy instability was gradually enhanced. By comparing the effects of the two gas explosion suppressants on the pressure and flame propagation characteristics, it was found that at the same volume fraction, trifluoroiodomethane was significantly better than carbon dioxide in suppressing the explosion of methane. By comparing the reduction rates of the characteristic methane explosion parameters at a volume fraction of 9.5%, it was observed that the inhibitory effect of 4% trifluoroiodomethane on the maximum explosion pressure was approximately 4.6 times that of the same amount of carbon dioxide, and the inhibitory effect of 4% trifluoroiodomethane on the maximum explosion pressure rise rate and flame propagation speed was approximately 2.7 times that of the same amount of carbon dioxide. The addition of 0.5%–1.5% trifluoromethane to 4% and 8% carbon dioxide can improve the explosion suppression efficiency of carbon dioxide. This enhancing phenomenon is a comprehensive manifestation of the oxygen-decreasing effect of carbon dioxide and the trifluoroiodomethane-related endothermic effect and reduction in key free radicals.     

Numerical simulation and study on the transmission law of flame and pressure wave of pipeline gas explosion

Based on FLUENT simulation software, the laws of transmission of flame and pressure wave in pipeline gas explosion were studied. It turned out that, the maximum pressure value of the explosion point is not the maximum value of the whole explosion process; the maximum pressure value of the pressure wave lowers firstly near the explosion point, then rises to a peak, and then drops gradually; two waves divide the space in the pipeline into three sections during the gas explosion transmission. The result is basically consistent between numerical simulation and experiment, and the conclusion from the simulation provides theoretical basis for research on explosion-proof and suppression devices for underground gas pipeline, as well as for technical regulations of installation.     

Effects of a carbon monoxide-dominant gas mixture on the explosion and flame propagation behaviors of methane in air

This work aimed to experimentally evaluate the effects of a carbon monoxide-dominant gas mixture on the explosion characteristics of methane in air and report the results of an experimental study on explosion pressure measurement in closed vessel deflagration for a carbon monoxide-dominant gas mixture over its entire flammable range. Experiments were performed in a 20-L spherical explosion tank with a quartz glass window 110 mm in diameter using an electric spark (1 J) as the ignition source. All experiments were conducted at room temperature and at ambient pressure, with a relative humidity ranging from 52 to 73%. The peak explosion pressure (P_max), maximum pressure rise rate ((dp/dt)_max), and gas deflagration index (K_G) were observed and analyzed. The flame propagation behavior in the initial stage was recorded using a high-speed camera. The spherical outward flame front was determined on the basis of a canny method, from which the maximum flame propagation speed (S_n) was calculated. The results indicated that the existence of the mixture had a significant effect on the flame propagation of CH₄-air and increased its explosion risk. As the volume fraction of the mixed gas increases, the P_max, (dp/dt)_max, K_G and S_n of the fuel-lean CH₄-air mixture (7% CH₄-air mixture) increase nonlinearly. In contrast, addition of the mixed gas negatively affected the fuel-rich mixture (11% CH₄-air mixture), exhibiting a decreasing trend. Under stoichiometric conditions (9.5% CH₄-air mixture), the mixed gas slightly lowered P_max, (dp/dt)_max, K_G, and S_n. The P_max of CH₄-air mixtures at volume fractions of 7%, 9.5%, and 11% were 5.4, 6.9, and 6.8 bar, respectively. The S_n of CH₄-air mixtures at volume fractions of 7%, 9.5%, and 11% were 1.2 m/s, 2.0 m/s, and 1.8 m/s, respectively. The outcome of the study is comprehensive data that quantify the dependency of explosion severity parameters on the gas concentration. In the storage and transportation of flammable gases, the information is required to quantify the potential severity of an explosion, design vessels able to withstand an explosion and design explosion safety measures for installations handling this gas.     

A methodology to predict shock overpressure decay in a tunnel produced by a premixed methane/air explosion

A methodology for estimating the blast wave overpressure decay in air produced by a gas explosion in a closed-ended tunnel is proposed based on numerical simulations. The influence of the tunnel wall roughness is taken into account in studying a methane/air mixture explosion and the subsequent propagation of the resulting shock wave in air. The pressure time-history is obtained at different axial locations in the tunnel outside the methane/air mixture. If the shock overpressure at two, or more locations, is known, the value at other locations can be determined according to a simple power law. The study demonstrates the accuracy of the proposed methodology to estimate the overpressure change with distance for shock waves in air produced by methane/air mixture explosions. The methodology is applied to experimental data in order to validate the approach.     

采用火焰传感器的高速抑爆响应系统测试研究

为实现主动抑制瓦斯爆炸,研制了高速抑爆响应系统。选用尺寸为150mm×150mm×1 600mm的有机玻璃管道,在CH4体积分数为9.5%的条件下进行响应系统测试实验。系统采用火焰传感器进行爆炸火焰探测,通过所设计的程序自主判定瓦斯爆炸的发生并输出控制电信号,以继电器或MOS管为电路控制开关,通过电磁阀控制抑爆剂的喷出。实验结果表明,火焰传感器探测、信号采集、爆炸判断、输出电信号的总平均耗时为22ms,抑爆剂开始释放的平均时刻为59.8ms,抑爆剂释放到管道顶端的平均时刻为79.8ms。而爆炸火焰传播到达喷头所在1.0m处平均时刻为176.2ms。实验表明该系统具有高速主动抑爆响应功能和良好的稳定性、可靠性。     

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.     

油气浓度对半开口管道爆炸超压特性与火焰行为的影响

为了研究油气浓度对半开口管道爆炸超压特性与火焰行为的影响,建立半开口透明管道实验台架,采用5种不同初始油气浓度,进行了一系列油气爆炸对比实验。研究结果表明:油气浓度对油气爆炸超压峰值以及升压速率有显著影响,二者都呈现随浓度的增加先增大后减小的变化规律;油气浓度对火焰锋面传播速度有着显著影响,在当量浓度比下,火焰锋面的传播速度最大,并且火焰锋面的传播距离也最远;管道内的火焰行为可以分为4个阶段;油气浓度对火焰传播形态以及传播速度有明显的影响,对火焰传播形态的影响主要体现在破坏变形以及管道外爆炸阶段,随着浓度增加,爆炸半径先增大后减小,火焰传播速度呈现相同的变化规律。     

Consequence analysis of premixed flammable gas explosion occurring in pipe using a coupled fluid-structure-fracture approach

A coupled fluid-structure-fracture approach incorporating a high-efficiency detonation modeling algorithm was proposed to study the consequences of premixed flammable gas explosion occurring in pipe. A strain-rate-dependent failure criterion which is the vital prerequisite for accurate consequences prediction was derived based on the failure mechanism of materials at high strain rates and it was applied to account for the fracture of pipe. The simulated pressure time history and fracture patterns were validated against experimental results and good agreements were acquired. The interaction between detonation wave and pipe during crack extension, dynamic fracture processes of pipes with different initial flaws, venting features of detonation products and pressure profiles out of pipe were obtained and discussed in detail. The comparison with existing semi-empirical and CFD methods was performed and it is revealed that the deformation and fracture of pipe have obvious negative influences on the peak overpressure and the rate of pressure increase out of pipe. Because the energy absorption and dissipation due to structural deformation and fracture are well taken into account, the coupled fluid-structure-fracture method is expected to provide more rational consequences prediction and analysis results.     

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.     

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.     

Effect of separation distance on gas dispersion and vapor cloud explosion in a storage tank farm determined using computational fluid dynamics

Storage tank separation distance, which considerably affects forestalling and mitigating accident consequences, is principally determined by thermal radiation modeling and meeting industry safety requirements. However, little is known about the influence of separation distance on gas dispersion or gas explosion, which are the most destructive types of accidents in industrial settings. This study evaluated the effect of separation distance on gas dispersion and vapor cloud explosion in a storage tank farm. Experiments were conducted using Flame Acceleration Simulator, an advanced computational fluid dynamics software program. Codes governing the design of separation distances in China and the United States were compared. A series of geometrical models of storage tanks with various separation distances were established. Overall, increasing separation distance led to a substantial reduction in vapor cloud volume and size in most cases. Notably, a 1.0 storage diameter separation distance appeared to be optimal. In terms of vapor cloud explosion, a greater separation distance had a marked effect on mitigating overpressure in gas explosions. Therefore, separation distance merited consideration in the design of storage tanks to prevent gas dispersion and explosion.     

Effects of combined porous media on quenching and re-ignition characteristics of methane/air premixed combustion in a duct

During the study of foam metal suppression of methane combustion in ducts, it was found that under certain conditions, after the flame is extinguished, a re-ignition phenomenon occurs in the area upstream of the foam metal. In this paper, the process and mechanism for the occurrence of this phenomenon were investigated. The porous media used in the experiments is a two-layer structure consisting of a combination of iron-nickel foam and copper foam and was mounted in a transversal position. Each layer of foam metal has a thickness of 5 mm and a pore size of 20 or 40 holes pores per inch (ppi). The results show that flame extinguishment and re-ignition are highly dependent on the material and pore density of the porous media used. After the flame was quenched by the combination of iron-nickel foam with the same pore density of 40ppi, the re-ignition intensity was higher (a dazzling white light could be observed) and the flame area was larger. However, when a combination of iron-nickel foam with different pore densities was used, the re-ignition intensity, flame oscillation frequency and amplitude were significantly lower. However, both re-ignition flames can last for a long time. In addition, the incorporation of copper foam with high thermal conductivity resulted in the decay of flame propagation speed and the overpressure before and after quenching increased significantly with the increase of pore density of the first layer of iron-nickel foam.     

管道内天然气爆炸火焰及压力波传播规律实验研究

天燃气安全不仅仅局限在企业内部,而是面向全社会,关系到社会稳定和市民生命财产安全。随着天然气市场开拓和广泛利用,庞大的管网系统和多样的用气环境给安全工作提出了更高的要求。采用理论分析、实验研究相结合的方法研究了管道内天然气爆炸火焰及压力波的传播规律。应用直径为700mm,长度为93m的管道进行了三次天然气爆炸传播实验。得出爆源点最大压力值并不是整个爆炸过程的最大值;压力波最大压力值在爆源点附近先降低,然后上升到某一峰值之后再逐渐衰减;最大压力值在衰减过程中不是单调衰减,有点起伏;随着天然气浓度的增大,其爆炸平均升压速率反而减小;随着天然气浓度的增大,其爆炸平均升压速率反而在减小;爆源附近火焰传播速度较小,上升到某一峰值后逐渐衰减。     

Enhancement effects of methane/air explosion caused by water spraying in a sealed vessel

Experiments about the influence of ultrafine water mist on the methane/air explosion were carried out in a fully sealed visual vessel with methane concentrations of 8%, 9.5%, 11% and 12.5%. Water mists were generated by two nozzles and the droplets' Sauter Mean Diameters (SMD) were 28.2 μm and 43.3 μm respectively which were measured by Phase Doppler Particle Anemometer (PDPA). A high speed camera was used to record the flame propagation processes. The results show that the maximum explosion overpressure, pressure rising rate and flame propagation velocity of methane explosions in various concentrations increased significantly after spraying. Furthermore, the brightness of explosion flame got much higher after spraying. Besides, the mist with a larger diameter had a stronger turbulent effect and could lead to a more violent explosion reaction.     

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...     

抑爆粉剂浓度及粒度对瓦斯爆炸抑制效果的影响

抑爆粉剂的参数指标是影响隔抑爆装置抑制瓦斯爆炸效果的重要因素之一。通过20 L球形爆炸特性实验装置对多种不同抑爆粉剂浓度及粒度条件下的瓦斯爆炸特性参数进行了测试。研究表明:随着抑爆剂浓度的逐渐增加,瓦斯爆炸最大压力降低,最大压力上升速率降低,压力到达峰值时间延迟;在20 L密闭环境,粉剂粒度＜15 μm的条件下,当抑爆粉剂浓度增加到225 g/m3时,瓦斯混合气体被完全惰化,失去爆炸性;在15~80 μm抑爆粉剂粒度范围内,随着粒度的减小,抑爆性能先减弱后增强,在抑爆粉剂浓度为200 g/m3时,15 μm 与70~80 μm粉剂粒度最大爆炸压力分别下降了19.8%,17.8%,而40~50 μm粒度爆炸压力下降了6.4%。     

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...