Effects of Obstacles on Flame Propagation Behavior and Explosion Overpressure Development During Gas Explosions in a Large Closed Tube

AutoReaGas was used for the simulations of premixed gas/air mixtures explosion characteristics in obstacle-filled tubes with a cross-section of 0.2 m×0.2 m and the length of 28 m. Numerical analyses provide a quantitative description of dependence of flame propagation speed and explosion overpressure on obstacles number, blockage ratio and interval distance. Computational results indicate that the obstacles play a significant role in determining the flame transmission speed and explosion overpressure in gas explosions. With the increase of blockage ratio, the explosion overpressure gradually rises. Nevertheless, the flame speed does not always increase along with increasing blockage ratio, but subsequently begins to decrease as the blockage ratio increases to some extend. Also, the interval distance between obstacles strongly influences flame behavior and explosion overpressure. When the obstacle interval distance is equal to inner diameter of the tube, the average flame speed in the obstacle zone and the peak overpressure in tube all reach maximum values.

Flame Propagation Characteristics of Propane-Air Mixture in Ducts with Obstacles

An experimental study on acceleration mechanism of flame propagation of propane-air mixture in ducts with obstacles was conducted. The acceleration mechanism of flame propagation is mainly due to the positive feedback of the turbulence region induced by obstacles for combustion process. It can be seen from the experimental results that the maximum explosion pressure can increase by 20%, the maximum rate of pressure rise can increase by 10 times and the flame propagation velocity can increase by 20 times when obstacles are present.

Numerical simulation of excess-enthalpy combustion flame propagation of coal mine methane in ceramic foam

Based on the assumption of a local non-equilibrium of heat transfer between a solid matrix and gas,a mathematic model of coal mine methane combustion in a porous medium was established,as well the solid-gas boundary conditions.We simulated numerically the flame propagation characteristics.The results show that the flame velocity in ceramic foam is higher than that of free laminar flows;the maximum flame velocity depends on the combined effects of a radiation extinction coefficient and convection heat transfer in ceramic foam and rises with an increase in the chemical equivalent ratio.The radiation extinction coefficient cannot be used alone to determine the heat regeneration effects in the design of ceramic foam burners.

Experimental research on flame propagation characteristics of coal dust combustion

The presence of coal dust explosions in coal mining are significant safety hazards.This study mainly explores the flame propagation of coal dust combustion so as to provide a theoretical basis for the prevention and control of coal dust explosions.In the experiment,a dust cloud ignition device was used to experimentally explore the influence of the coal dust concentration on the flame propagation of the coal dust,and high-speed photography was used to record the coal dust flame propagation process.The results show that the flame propagates vertically along the wall of the vertical glass tube,emits a bright yellow light during the propagation process,and forms a mushroom cloud-shaped flame at the upper end of the vertical glass tube.When the concentration of coal dust is 250 g/m^(3),its burning time is much less than those of 500 g/m^(3)and 750 g/m^(3).When the concentrations are 250 g/m^(3),500 g/m^(3)and 750 g/m^(3),respectively,the corresponding maximum propagation velocities of the flame front reach 1.51 m/s,2.00 m/s and 1.61 m/s at 100 ms,353 ms and 310 ms,respectively.The time for the flame front velocity to reach the maximum and the maximum velocity of flame propagation first increase and then decrease with the rising of concentration.

The experimental of methane-air flame propagation in the tube with quadrate cross section

The flame propagation of methane-air mixture with various methane concen-trations was experimentally investigated at venting flame acceleration tube with quad-rate cross section under different obstacles presented. The flame shape and propaga-tion speed was observed by high-speed color video camera. The explosion pressure was determined by piezoelectricity pressure transducers. The results are: The flame propagates in the shape of a hemisphere before the flame reaches the first baffle and flame propagation speed is not more than 15 m/s. When the flame propagates across the baffle, the flame begins to accelerate due to turbulence induced by obstacle. Blockage ratio has relatively greater effect on the flame propagation speed than re-peated baffle number does. The flame propagation speed and the pressure at different location along the tube are maximum when methane-air mixture is near the chemical stoichoimetric ratio. The pressure increases with the distance from ignition end at first and the maximum pressure was obtained at the middle of tube, but the pressure de-creases and again increases at venting end.

Studies on the flame propagation characteristic and thermal hazard of the premixed N2O/fuel mixtures

An experimental study was carried out to investigate the flame propagation and thermal hazard of the premixed N2O/fuel mixtures,including NH3,C3H8 and C2H4.The study provided the high speed video images and data about the flame locations,propagation patterns,overpressures and the quenching diameters during the course of combustion in different channels to elucidate the dynamics of various combustion processes.The onset decomposition temperature was determined using high-performance adiabatic calorimetry.It was shown that the order of the flame acceleration rate and thermal hazard was N2O/C2H4>N2O/C3H8>N2O/NH3.

Modeling flame propagation speed and quenching distance of aluminum dust flame with spatially random distribution of particles

In this research combustion of aluminum dust particles in a quiescent medium with spatially discrete sources distributed in a random way was studied by a numerical approach.A new thermal model was generated to estimate flame propagation speed in a lean/rich reaction medium.Flame speed for different particle diameters and the effects of various oxidizers such as carbon dioxide and oxygen on flame speed were studied.Nitrogen was considered the inert gas.In addition,the quenching distance and the minimum ignition energy(MIE) were studied as a function of dust concentration.Different burning time models for aluminum were employed and their results were compared with each other.The model was based on conduction heat transfer mechanism using the heat point source method.The combustion of single-particle was first studied and the solution was presented.Then the dust combustion was investigated using the superposition principle to include the effects of surrounding particles.It is found that larger particles have higher values of quenching distance in comparison with smaller particles in an assumed dust concentration.With the increase of dust concentration the value of MIE would be decreased for an assumed particle diameter.Considering random discrete heat sources method,the obtained results of random distribution of fuel particles in space provide closer and realistic predictions of the combustion physics of aluminum dust flame as compared with the experimental findings.

Ignition, flame propagation and extinction in the supersonic mixing layer flow

The supersonic mixing layer flow,consisting of a relatively cold,slow diluted hydrogen stream and a hot,faster air stream,is numerically simulated with detailed transport properties and chemical reaction mechanisms.The evolution of the combustion process in the supersonic reacting mixing layer is observed and unsteady phenomena of ignition,flame propagation and extinction are successfully captured.The ignition usually takes place at the air stream side of braid regions between two vortexes due to much higher temperature of premixed gases.After ignition,the flame propagates towards two vortexes respectively located on the upstream and downstream of the ignition position.The apparent flame speed is 1569.97 m/s,which is much higher than the laminar flame speed,resulting from the effects of expansion,turbulence,vortex stretching and consecutive ignition.After the flame arrives at the former vortex,the flame propagates along the outer region of the vortex in two branches.Then the upper flame branch close to fuel streamside distinguishes gradually due to too fuel-riched premixed mixtures in the front of the flame and the strong cooling effect of the adjacent cool fuel flow,while the lower flame branch continues to propagate in the vortex.

Propagation velocity measurement for flame of gas explosion in horizontal tube

In coal industry,gas explosion accidents emerge constantly,causing enormous casualties and poorer material property.In the course of studying gas exploding mechanism,the propagation velocity of the flame wave front is one of the most important factors.A set of flame velocity measuring system was designed according to the horizontal pipelined experimental facility of North University of China to study the effects of the quantity and blockage ratio of the circle ring obstacle on the flame propagation velocity in the inclosed tube.The research results show that the obstacle has obviously accelerating effect on the flame wave of gas explosion With the increase of quantity and blockage ratio of the obstacle,the flame accelerating effect becomes more obvious and the flame accelerating persistence is intenser,of which the effect of the quantity of the obstacle on the flame accelerating persistence is larger,but the effect of the blockage ratio of the obstacle on the flame accelerating persistenceis not obvious.

Mechanistic Insights into Effects of Outer Stage Flare Angle on Ignition and Flame Propagation of Separated Dual-Swirl Spray Flames

The present work investigates the effects of outer stage flare angle on ignition and kernel propagation in a centrally staged optical model combustor based on the kernel dynamics analysis and laser diagnostics of flow and spray fields.Three outer stage flare angles of 8°,16°,and 25°are researched,respectively.The better ignition performances are found for larger outer stage flare angles.Key properties such as the kernel velocity,kernel trajectory extracted from 6 k Hz high-speed flame images are analyzed in combination with the flow and spray measured via Particle Image Velocimetry(PIV)and Planar Mie Scattering(PMie).Results show that the larger outer stage flare angle imposes a larger opening angle of outer swirl jet(SWJ),shifting the vortex in outer recirculation zone(ORZ)and inner recirculation zone(IRZ)upstream.The spray distribution of a smaller flare angle exhibits a fuel-lean zone near the igniter and this is attributed to the presence of low-angle outer swirl jet that prevents the fuel droplets from arriving at the igniter vicinity.The flame kernel propagates along the path where the strain rate and velocity decrease and the spray droplet density is within the flammable limits.A lower outer stage flare angle increases the strain rate and velocity at the early phase of flame propagation,leading to a longer propagation route and thus increasing the risk of ignition failure.

Effect of Turbulence on Flame Propagation in Comstarch Dust-Air Mixtures

Following the quantitative determination of dust cloud parameters, this study investigated the flame propagation through cornstarch dust clouds in a vertical duct of 780 mm height and 160×160 mm square cross section, and gave particular attention to the effect of turbulence on flame characteristics. The turbulence induced by dust dispersion process was measured using a particle image velocimetry （PIV） system. Upward propagating dust flames were visualized with direct fight and shadow photography. The results show that a critical value of the turbulence intensity can be specified below which laminar flame propagation would be established. This transition condition is about 10 cm/s. The measured propagation speed of laminar flames appears to be in the range of 0.45-0.56 m/s, consistent with the measurements reported in the literature. For the present experimental conditions, the flame speed is little sensitive to the variations in dust concentration. Some information on the flame structure was revealed from the shadow records, showing the typical heterogeneous feature of dust combustion process.

Experiment study on the propagation laws of gas and coal dust explosion in coal mine

The experiment of gas and coal dust explosion propagation in a single lanewaywas carried out in a large experimental roadway that is nearly the same with actual environmentand geometry conditions.In the experiment,the time when the gas and coal dustexplosion flame reaches test points has a logarithmic function relation with the test pointdistances.The explosion flame propagation velocity rises rapidly in the foreside of the coaldust segment and comes down after that.The length of the flame area is about 2 timesthat of the original coal dust accumulation area.Shock wave pressure comes down to therock bottom in the coal dust segment,then reaches the maximum peak rapidly and comesdown.The theoretical basis of the research and assemble of across or explosion is suppliedby the experiment conclusion.Compared with gas explosion,the force and destructiondegree of gas and coal dust explosion is much larger.

Experimental investigation on microstructure behavior of premixed methane-air flame-flow interaction in a semi-vented chamber

To explore the premixed methane-air flame microstructure behavior and the flame-flow interaction, the premixed methane/air flame was studied in a semi-vented chamber. A high speed camera and schlieren images methods were used to record the processes of interaction between rare- faction wave and flame. Meanwhile, a pressure sensor was utilized to catch the pressure variation in the process of flame propagation. The experiment results showed that the interference of rarefaction wave on flame caused the flame front structure change, which led to the flame transition from lami- nar to turbulent quickly. The rarefaction wave intervened in the flame by turning the flame front sur- face into dentiform structure. The violent turbulent combustion began to appear in part of the flame front and spreaded to the whole flame front surface. The rarefaction also decreased the flame propa- gation speed.

Experimental study and theoretical analysis on the effect of electric field on gas explosion and its propagation

The effect of the electric field with different intensity on explosion wave pressure and flame propagation velocity of gas explosion was experimentally studied, and the effect of electric field on gas explosion and its propagation was theoretically analyzed from heat transportation, mass transportation, and reaction process of gas explosion. The results show that the electric field can affect gas explosion by enhancing explosion intensity and explosion pressure, thus increasing flame velocity. The electric field can offer energy to the gas explosion reaction; the effect of the electric field on gas explosion increases with the increase of electric field intensity. The electric field can increase mass transfer action, heat transfer action, convection effects, diffusion coefficient, and the reaction system entropy, which make the turbulence of gas explosion in electric field increase; therefore, the electric field can improve flame combustion velocity and flame propagation velocity, release more energy, increase shock wave energy, and then promote the gas explosion and its propagation.

Laminar Diffusion Flames of Methane in a Co-annular Jet of Oxygen-Enriched Air

Oxygen rich combustion is a mean to increase the energy efficiency and to contribute to CO2 capture. Influence of oxygen enriched air on the stability of methane flames from non premixed laminar jets has been investigated experimentally. The burner consists of two coaxial jets： methane flowing out of the inner, oxidizer from the outer. The flame behavior is studied according to the proportion of oxygen in the oxidizer jet, the oxidizer and the methane jets velocities. The flame is either anchored to the burner, lifted, stationary or not or blown-out. The addition of oxygen produces a decrease of the lift height, a reduction of the length of the reaction zone and an increase in the soot emission. These results have been reported into diagrams of stability where the flame configurations are connected to the competition between the dynamic effect of the injection velocity and the chemical effect of oxygen addition.

Effect of roadway turnings on gas explosion propagation characteristics in coal mines

In order to reveal the effect of turnings on explosion propagation, experiments were performed in three different pipes （single bend, U-shaped pipe and Z-shaped pipe）. Flame and pressure transducers were used to track the velocity at the explosion front. When the pipes were filled with methane, the explosion strength was significantly enhanced due to the turbulence induced by increasing the number of turnings, while the flame speed （Sf） and peak overpressure （ΔPmax） increased dramatically. In addition, the strength of the explosion increased in violence as a function of the number of turnings. However, when the bend was without methane, the turnings weakened the strength of the explosion compared with the ordinary pipe, shown by the decrease in the values of ΔPmax and Sf. In addition, the propagation characteristics in a U-shaped pipe were similar to those in a Z-shaped pipe and the values of APmax and Sf were also close. The results show that the explosion propagation characteristics largely depend on gas distribution in the pipes and the number of turnings. The different directions of the turnings had no effect.

Asymptotic analysis of outwardly propagating spherical flames

Asymptotic analysis is conducted for outwardly propagating spherical flames with large activation energy. The spherical flame structure consists of the preheat zone, reaction zone, and equilibrium zone. Analytical solutions are separately obtained in these three zones and then asymp- totically matched. In the asymptotic analysis, we derive a correlation describing the spherical flame temperature and propagation speed changing with the flame radius. This cor- relation is compared with previous results derived in the limit of infinite value of activation energy. Based on this correla- tion, the properties of spherical flame propagation are inves- tigated and the effects of Lewis number on spherical flame propagation speed and extinction stretch rate are assessed. Moreover, the accuracy and performance of different mod- els used in the spherical flame method are examined. It is found that in order to get accurate laminar flame speed and Markstein length, non-linear models should be used.

Methane–air explosion characteristics with different obstacle configurations

To investigate the flame and overpressure characteristics of methane–air explosion with different obstacle configurations,an experimental study has been conducted,taking account of the number of obstacles,obstacle distance from ignition source,and stream-wise and cross-wise obstacle positions.The results show that the flame speed and peak overpressure increase with the increasing number of obstacles,while the time to reach the peak is not fully determined by it.And the configuration having the farthest obstacle produces a higher overpressure and takes a longer time to reach the peak,but a slower flame propagation speed is obtained.Similar explosion characteristics are also observed in the configurations with two obstacles fixed at different stream-wise positions.Furthermore,the experimental results demonstrate that the peak overpressures and flame speeds in configurations with central or staggered obstacles are relatively higher,which should to be avoided in practical processes to minimize the risk associated with methane–air explosion.

Experimental and numerical evaluations on characteristics of vented methane explosion

To research the characteristics of vented explosion of methane-air mixture in the pipeline,coal mine tunnel or other closed space,the experiments and numerical simulations were carried out.In this work,explosion characteristics and flame propagation characteristics of methane in pipeline and coal mine tunnel are studied by using an explosion test system,combined with FLACS software,under different vented conditions.The numerical simulation results of methane explosion are basically consistent with the physical experiment results,which indicates that the numerical simulation for methane explosion is reliable to be applied to the practice.The results show that explosion parameters(pressure,temperature and product concentration)of methane at five volume fractions have the same change trend.Nevertheless,the explosion intension of 10.0%methane is the largest and that of 9.5%methane is relatively weak,followed by 11.0%methane,8.0%methane and 7.0%methane respectively.Under different vented conditions,the pressure and temperature of methane explosion are the highest in the pipeline without a vent,followed by the pipeline where ignition or vent position is in each end,and those are the lowest in the pipeline with ignition and vent at the same end.There is no significant effect on final product concentration of methane explosion under three vented conditions.For coal mine tunnel,it is indicated that the maximum explosion pressure at the airproof wall in return airway with the branch roadway at 50 m from goaf is significantly decreased while that in intake airway does not change overwhelmingly.In addition,when the branch roadway is longer or its section is larger,the peak pressure of airproof wall reduces slightly.

Explosion characteristics of aluminum-based activated fuels containing fluorine

Measuring the dust explosion characteristics of aluminum-based activated fuels was a prerequisite for developing effective prevention and control measures.In this paper,ignition sensitivity,flame propagation behaviors and explosion severity of aluminum/polytetrafluoroethylene(Al/PTFE)compositions including 2 PT(2.80 wt.%F),4 PT(7.18 wt.%F)and 8 PT(11.90 wt.%F)were studied.When the content of F increased from 2.80 wt.%to 11.90 wt.%,the minimum explosive concentration MEC decreased from380 g/m^(3)to 140 g/m^(3),due to the dual effects of increased internal active aluminum and enhanced reactivity.The average flame propagation velocities increased as the percentage of F increased.The maximum explosion pressure Pmof 500 g/m3aluminum-based activated fuels increased from 247 k Pa to299 kPa.Scanning electron microscopy demonstrated that with the increase of PTFE content,the reaction was more complete.On this basis,the explosion mechanism of aluminum-based activated fuels was revealed.