Characteristics of gas explosion flow fields in complex pipelines

Abstract

The explosion flow field in five straight pipes with different diameters and one bending pipe selected from a domestic coal mine are studied by the method of numerical simulation. And the results show that, both in the straight and bending pipes, the pressure wave and velocity wave are accelerated by the rising of reaction rate. As the explosion progressed, with the temperature reaching approximately 3000 K, only one pressure wave and one reaction rate wave were observed, while several velocity waves were found. The larger diameter presented the highest relative pressure as well as the largest velocity increase and subsequent decrease inside the tube. The bent pipes caused both turbulence and kinetic energy to increase, resulting in the acceleration of the reaction rate. The burning time was 7.4% shorter than the burning time observed for the straight pipe. Based on these results, designing one explosion resistance device, and in the practical engineering applications, it was to be proved to meet the security requirements fully. Keywords: Explosion, Numerical simulation, Acceleration, Reaction rate