Experimental study on the influence of different parameters of copper foam on the flame propagation characteristics and quenching ability of powder deflagration

Abstract

Foam metal as a promising application of explosion-proof and explosion-suppression materials, which itself has a complex three-dimensional pore structure, can be more effective in quenching gas and dust explosion flame in this research, a platform was created to experiment with dust deflagration using transparent quartz tubes and high-speed photography. The study focused on how copper foam affects flame propagation during deflagration of three kinds of dust: polyethylene, aluminum, and wheat. The results showed that copper foam hinders the flame front displacement and reduces fluctuations in flame propagation velocity when compared to deflagrations that do not have copper foam. However, placing copper foam too close to the ignition source can increase the magnitude of fluctuations in the early stages of the deflagration. When copper foam was placed 360 mm above the source of ignition, the 10PPI and 20PPI copper foam were able to decrease the flame of polyethylene dust and aluminum dust. As the porosity of the metal foam increases, the 30PPI copper foam can completely extinguish the flame of the three powders. The research also found that copper foam can divide the flame, quench the flame entering the copper foam, and block some of the burned and unburned powders, thereby reducing the energy of the deflagration and weakening the reaction. Comprehensively, to explore the inhibition effect of different parameters of copper foam against dust deflagration, which is of some significance for the study of fire and explosion control.

Keywords

• Flame propagation
• Dust deflagration
• Vertical combustion
• Metal foam