Application of CFD on the sensitivity analyses of some parameters of the modified Hartmann tube

The aim of this work is to determine the influence of operating parameters such as the dispersion pressure, the ignition delay and height on the dust flammability. A Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation, based on an Euler–Lagrange approach, was developed with Ansys Fluent™ and validated experimentally. Such analysis will facilitate the choice of the most conservative conditions for a flammability test. This paper is focused on a case study performed on wheat starch with the modified Hartmann tube. The dispersion process of the powder was studied with granulometric analyses performed in situ and high speed videos. Tests were performed with injections at gas pressure ranging from 3 to 6 bars and the evolution of the particle size distribution (PSD) was recorded at different ignition heights (5, 10 and 15 cm over the dispersion nozzle). The observations highlighted the presence of agglomeration/deagglomeration processes and dust segregation. Besides, a CFD simulation analysis was aimed at evaluating the impact of a set of parameters on the PSD and the local turbulence, which are closely linked to some flammability parameters. For this computational analysis, the CFD simulation was coupled with a collision treatment based on a Discrete Element Method (DEM) in order to consider the cohesive behavior of the combustible dust. Thus the results suggest performing the injection of the gases at approximately 5 bars for the flammability tests of wheat starch in order to obtain the finest PSD at a given ignition height. It is also shown that the finest PSD are obtained at 5 cm over the dispersion nozzle. However, the local instabilities and turbulence levels are so high during the first stages of the dispersion that the flame growth can be disturbed for short ignition delays. Moreover, the stabilization of the bulk of the dust cloud requires longer periods of time when the ignition sources are located at 15 cm. As a result, the recommended height to perform a flammability test is 10 cm in this case. Finally, this study proposes some tools that might improve the procedure of dust flammability testing.     

Detonations and vapor cloud explosions: Why it matters

The methods used to evaluate the consequences of a vapor cloud explosion assume deflagrations within congested process pipework regions and consequently a significant effort has been invested in developing models to estimate the severity of these deflagrations. Models range from the simpler screening approaches to detailed Computational Fluid Dynamics. There is clear evidence from large scale experiments and incidents that transition from deflagration to detonation is credible and has occurred and it is the contention of this paper that deflagration is only the first stage in many major vapor cloud explosions and that detonation is readily foreseeable. Why does this matter? The methods currently used in the design and location of buildings on and around process sites are based on an incomplete picture of vapor cloud explosions. Whilst this might not have a significant effect in some cases, it is shown that there is the potential to significantly underestimate the explosion hazard. This will result in occupied buildings either being placed in the wrong location or under-designed for the explosion threat, increasing the risks to personnel on these sites.     

Deflagration to detonation transition in a vapour cloud explosion in open but congested space: Large scale test

The paper reviews large scale experiments with various fuels in air where successful deflagration to detonation transition (DDT) took place. This includes a recent experiment disclosed in the Buncefield R&D program, where DDT developed in the propane/air mixture. The DDT occurred in branches of deciduous trees in a premixed stagnant mixture. An internal R&D investigation programme was initiated to better understand the phenomena. A large scale experiment in an open space with ethane air mixture is presented in the paper. The premixed mixture was ignited at the edge of the congested three-dimensional rigs which consisted of vertical and horizontal pipes. After ignition, the flame accelerated in the congestion and transitioned to detonation at the end of congestion. Stable detonation propagated through the remaining open and uncongested space.The flame acceleration process leading to DDT is scale dependent. It also depends on many parameters leading to a large investigation array and, significant cost. However, such R&D efforts aimed toward a safer plant design, i.e. the prevention of occurrence of a major accident, are a small fraction of a real accident cost.     

Mercury adsorption characteristics of HBr-modified fly ash in an entrained-flow reactor

In this study, the mercury adsorption characteristics of HBr-modified fly ash in an entrained-flow reactor were investigated through thermal decomposition methods. The results show that the mercury adsorption performance of the HBr-modified fly ash was enhanced significantly. The mercury species adsorbed by unmodified fly ash were HgCl₂, HgS and HgO. The mercury adsorbed by HBr-modified fly ash, in the entrained-flow reactor, existed in two forms, HgBr₂ and HgO, and the HBr was the dominant factor promoting oxidation of elemental mercury in the entrained-flow reactor. In the current study, the concentration of HgBr₂ and HgO in ash from the fine ash vessel was 4.6 times greater than for ash from the coarse ash vessel. The fine ash had better mercury adsorption performance than coarse ash, which is most likely due to the higher specific surface area and longer residence time.     

Classification of dispersibility for combustible dust based on Hausner ratio

Mixing of combustible dust and oxidant is one of five essential prerequisites in the dust explosion pentagon, requiring that particles originally in mutual contact within the deposits be separated and suspended in the air. However, dust dispersion never proceeds with 100% efficiency, with inevitable particle agglomeration, and an inherent trend toward settling out of suspension. Dispersibility is defined to describe the ease of dispersion of a dust and the tendency of the particulate matter to remain airborne once a dust cloud has been formed. Pioneers made contributions to classify dust dispersibility by introducing dustiness group (DG), dustability index (DI), NIOSH dispersion chamber and in-situ particle size analysis. Issues remained including the difficulty in comparing results from different methods, as well as the availability of some high-tech testing apparatus.This study aims to provide a quick and universal testing method to estimate the dispersion property of combustible dust. A new dispersibility classification was developed based on dimensionless numbers Hausner ratio and Archimedes number. Four dispersibility classes (DCs) were proposed from one to four, with a larger number meaning better dispersibility. Results for more than a dozen dust samples and mixtures thereof showed the new method is useful in dust explosion research. The consistency in classifying dust dispersion properties between the DC method and previous methods was good. Changes in DC well explained our earlier findings on suppressant enhanced explosion parameter (SEEP) phenomenon attributed to the improvement in dust dispersibility. Hausner ratio and Archimedes number, as easily measured parameters, can be quite advantageous to assess dust dispersibility, permitting a proper risk assessment for the formation of explosible dust clouds.     

Effects of typical additives on the thermal stability of ammonium peroxydisulfate

Ammonium peroxydisulfate (APS), one of the most widely used inorganic peroxides in the process industries, is a thermally unstable peroxide and potent oxidizer due to the presence of peroxy bond in the molecule and is incompatible with most substances. To investigate the effect of typical additives on the thermal decomposition of APS, in this paper, diamine phosphate (DAP), monoamine phosphate (MAP), and aluminum hydroxide (AH) were selected as additives; pure APS and samples with 10 wt% and 20 wt% of additives were first tested by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The experiments and analysis showed that the samples with 10 wt% of additive had better thermal stability than those with 20 wt% of additive. After screening, the three groups of 10 wt% AH, 10 wt% MAP, and 20 wt% MAP additive conditions could be considered to have a better thermal stability effect on the thermal decomposition of APS. Four groups of samples were, in turn, tested by Phi-Tec II. The adiabatic results showed two discontinuous exothermic processes; 10 wt% AH promoted the weak exothermic effect in the first stage. In contrast, the three groups of additives in the main exothermic stage showed different degrees of inhibition, and the inhibiting effect was ranked as 10 wt% AH, 10 wt% MAP, and 20 wt% MAP in order. Finally, the self-accelerated decomposition temperature (SADT) was calculated under the 25 kg standard package. The adiabatic results, including SADT, were combined to render feasible recommendations for the use of additives, which provides references for the packaging and transportation of additives and their applications.     

CFD-based assessment and visualization of the failure consequences of LPG tankers

This paper presents a simulation analysis of the explosions following an LPG leak and visualizes the consequences of the accident to reduce the consequences of the LPG leak explosion. Firstly, this paper proposes a CFD numerical simulation-based method for visualizing the consequences of LPG tanker failure. The method combines satellite maps and CFD numerical simulation data to visualize the consequences of LPG leaks and explosions, taking into account the influence of obstacles on the danger range of leaks and explosions; Secondly, this paper applies the method to a liquefied petroleum gas accident that occurred in the Wenling section of the Shenhai Expressway and performs CFD numerical simulation on the accident process and visualizes the consequences of the accident. Therefore, this method can provide a theoretical reference for the prior prevention of LPG accidents and the analysis of the consequences of accidents, as well as certain practical guidance instructive.     

Inhibition effects of aluminum dust explosions by various kinds of ammonium polyphosphate

In this work, vinyltriethoxysilane (A151) and 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (KH550) were used to modify ammonium polyphosphate (APP), showing that the dispersibility of APP could be improved remarkably by A151 and KH550. The maximum explosion pressure of aluminum dust explosion decreased with the addition of APP, A151-APP (APP-A) and KH550-APP (APP-B), with the exception of the case where the inerting ratio (α) of APP-A was less than 0.4. After the addition of APP-B, there was little difference in flame propagation behavior and explosion pressure compared with that of adding APP, indicating that APP-B could retain the inhibition performance of APP compared with APP-A. When the inerting ratios of APP, APP-A and APP-B were 1.2, 1.4 and 1.4, respectively, the aluminum dust explosion could be completely inhibited. The explosion residues of aluminum dust/APP mainly consisted of Al₂O₃, P-containing and N-containing compounds. It could be analyzed that APP exerted the inhibition effect through both chemical and physical effects.     

Effects of environmental temperature on the thermal runaway of lithium-ion batteries during charging process

Lithium-ion batteries with relatively narrow operating temperature range have provoked concerns regarding the safety of LIBs. In this work, a series of experiments were conducted to explore the thermal runaway (TR) behaviors of charging batteries in a high/low temperature test chamber. The effects of charging rates (0.5 C, 1 C, 2 C, and 3 C), and ambient temperature (2 °C, 32 °C and 56 °C) are comprehensively investigated.The results indicate that the cell exhibited greater thermal hazard at the high charging rate and ambient temperature conditions. As the charging rate increased from 0.5 C to 3 C, more lithium intercalated in the anode prompt the TR triggered in advance, the TR onset temperature decreased from 297.5 °C to 264.7 °C. In addition, the charging time decreased with the elevated ambient temperature, resulting in a relatively higher TR onset temperature and lower maximum temperature, and the average TR critical time declined by 115–143 s. Finally, the TR required less heat accumulation with increasing of charging rate and ambient temperature, and the heat generation of side reaction played a substantial role that accounted for approximately 54%∼63%. These results provide an insight into the charging cell thermal runaway behaviors in complex operation environments and deliver valuable guidance for improving the safety of cell operation.     

Simulation of scenario characteristics of LPG tank explosion accident and its contribution to emergency planning: A case study

Leakage and explosion of hazardous chemicals during road transportation can cause serious building damage and casualties, and adoption of highly-efficient emergency rescue measures plays a critical role in reducing accidental hazards. Considering a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) transport tanker explosion accident that occurred in Wenling, Zhejiang Province, China on June 13, 2020 as example, this study proposes a risk assessment framework. This framework recreates the leakage and explosion of the accident process using FLACS v10.9, suggests plans for evacuation, describes the rescue areas of different levels, and explores the influence of environmental factors on the evacuation and rescue areas. The results show that simulated and predicted distributions of fuel vapour cloud concentration and explosion overpressure can provide a reference basis for rapid rescue activities; the characterization of the dynamic effects of wind speed, wind direction, and temperature with respect to the evacuation and rescue areas can be used as theoretical support for on-site adjustment of rescue forces. The role of obstacles can prevent the expansion of the evacuation areas under low wind-speed conditions, and the presence of highly congested obstacles determines the level of the rescue area. The results obtained are important for the risk analysis and the development of emergency rescue measures in case of explosion accidents associated with transportation of hazardous chemicals on high-hazard and high-sensitive road sections.