Citation

Molkov VV. Fire Safety J. 1999; 33(1): 45-56.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1999, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Real explosions in domestic structures (Rasbash and Stretch, Struct. Eng 1969;47;403-11) and industrial plants (Howard, Loss Prevention 1972;6;68-73) have been analyzed. Deflagration dynamics are solved for enclosures of volumes of 130-8000 m3 for vent release overpressures in the range of 0-0.21 bar, and for different inertia of covers over the venting spaces in the range 0-15 kg/m2. From comparisons of the real explosion data with the modeling of pressure-time behavior during vented gaseous deflagrations according to an earlier lumped parameter theory values of the main parameter, a turbulence factor, [chi], are obtained. The results suggest the combustion is highly turbulent for real conditions in domestic structures (turbulence factor [chi][ges]8 with discharge coefficient [mu]=0.6) and especially in large-scale enclosures such as a plant, with internal obstacles (turbulence factor [chi][ges]17). On the basis of the devised effective turbulence factors (the ratio [chi]/[mu]) the design procedures for avoiding the development of excessive overpressures during deflagrations, in both domestic and industrial plant, can be improved.