Suppression characteristics of water mist containing alkali metal compounds in natural gas explosions

Abstract

The natural gas explosion in semi-constrained spaces seriously jeopardize public safety. Water mist containing additive is an important method to reduce the disaster intensity. However, in actual scenarios, the explosion usually propagates for a certain distance before entering the mist area, which is more difficult to suppress the explosion. Therefore, the self-designed experimental system was used to recognize the suppression effect of water mist containing alkali metal compounds under the simulated scenario. The results show that the flame propagation distance was significantly reduced, the shortest overfire range was decreased by 40.0 % compared with the water mist condition. The peak overpressure and pressure rise rate also showed a significant decrease, the maximum pressure drop rate reached 72.3 %. When the explosion flame entered the atomized region, the turbulent disturbance generated by the atomization accelerated the mixture of combustion zone and the unburned area, which increases the possibility of consuming free radicals. Compared with the KCl and NaCl, the mist containing K2CO3 and Na2CO3 share higher suppression capacity. This study provides scientific guidance for the practical application of water mist explosion suppression.

Keywords

• Natural gas explosion
• Water mist contains potassium compound
• Explosion suppression
• Overfire range
• Overpressure drop rate