Sensors layout optimization in explosion overpressure field reconstruction

The paper proposes four indicators to guide sensors layout in practical experiment on explosion overpressure filed construction based on tomographic method with high reconstruction accuracy and the least sensors. First, genetic algorithm is adopted to conduct global search and sensor layout optimization method is selected to satisfy four indicators. Then, by means of Matlab, the variation of these four indicators with different sensor layouts and reconstruction accuracy are analyzed and discussed. The results indicate that the sensor layout method proposed by this paper can reconstruct explosion overpressure field at the highest precision by a minimum number of sensors. It will guide actual explosion experiments in a cost-effective way.

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.

Simplified Analysis for Reflective Overpressure on Walls of Rectangle-Section Tunnel due to Its Inner-Explosion

Based on the constructing thought of the displacement model of isoparametric finite element, an extended interpolating algorithm is deduced for calculating the overpressure history of an optional point on the walls of the rectangle-section tunnel under an optional point-explosion in its internal space. According to the working principle, the overpressure histories of all nodes on the walls of a tunnel with the equal width and height of 2 m, induced by a reference-charge explosion at each node in this tunnel's cross section, are computed using the LS-DYNA software, and then are gathered to establish a reference database, which makes it possible to set optionally the positions of the explosive and the overpressure-observed point. In addition, some variation factors of peak values and durations of overpressure on the walls, reflecting some changes on the charge weight and the sizes of width and height of the section, are included in this algorithm in order to simulate approximately the overpressure responses on the walls under the optional charge weight and cross-section size. Some example analyses indicate the rapidity and validity of this method, and therefore this will bring it a good prospect in engineering application.

Study on Gas Explosion Characteristics in Urban Utility Tunnels

In order to study the effects of three factors,namely,premixed gas concentration,number of pressure relief ports and number of obstacles,on the overpressure characteristics of gas explosion and flame structure of gas chambers in utility tunnels,in this paper,a small and narrow experimental platform for gas explosion was constructed to study the evolution mechanism and law of the kinetic characteristics and flame behavior of gas explosion in utility tunnels,with a view to revealing the special influencing mechanism of the overpressure characteristics and flame behavior of gas explosion in utility tunnels.The results show that in the methane concentration of 9.5%when the explosion overpressure reaches its peak,and at the same time by the utility tunnel long and narrow restricted space,the explosion generated by the precursor shock wave along with the flame compression wave were superimposed on both ends of the pipeline back and forth for many times so that the overpressure waveforms are cyclic oscillatory trend,increasing the explosion hazards;compared with the closed conditions,the relief port on the overpressure characteristics of the significant impact of the maximum decrease of 57.7%,when the frequency of overpressure oscillation is reduced,the gas explosion generated by the overpressure damage is reduced;the presence of obstacles significantly affects the flow field,accelerates the flame propagation and leads to greater overpressure peaks and overpressure oscillations.The conclusions of the study can provide a basis for the safety of natural gas in utility tunnels.

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.

Simulation Analysis of Indoor Gas Explosion Damage

The influence factors and process of indoor gas explosion are studied with AutoReaGas explosion simulator. The result shows that venting pressure has great influence on the indoor gas explosion damage. The higher the venting pressure is, the more serious the hazard consequence will be. The ignition location has also evident effect on the gas explosion damage. The explosion static overpressure would not cause major injury to person and serious damage to structure in the case of low venting pressure (lower than 2 kPa). The high temperature combustion after the explosion is the major factor to person injury in indoor gas explosion accidents.

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.