Acceleration of flames

Turbulence is required for the acceleration of flame front to speeds required to produce the blast overpressure associated with a VCE. In the absence of turbulence, a flash fire will occur without any appreciable overpressure, with the hazard limited to the thermal radiation impacts associated with the burning of the cloud from the ignition point back to the release source, or within the flammable range of the cloud. Flame turbulence is typically formed by the interaction between the flame front and obstacles. The blast effects produced by VCEs vary greatly and are primarily dependent on flame speed therefore, areas of confinement and congestion near the release point can influence the likelihood of a VCE. Additionally the reactivity of the material is an important consideration highly reactive materials such as ethylene oxide are much more likely to lead to a VCE than lower reactive materials such as methane. 

Vapor Cloud Explosion (VCE) Explosive oxidation of a vapor cloud in a non-confined space (not in vessels, buildings, etc.). The flame speed may accelerate to high velocities and produce significant blast overpressure. Vapor cloud explosions in plant areas with dense equipment layouts may show acceleration in flame speed and intensification of blast. 

Deflagration-to-Detonation Transition (DDT) The transition phenomenon resulting from the acceleration of a deflagration flame to detonation via flame-generated turbulent flow and compressive heating... 

Theoretical research is then discussed. Most theoretical research has concentrated on blast generation as a function of flame speed. Models of flame-acceleration processes and subsequent pressure generation (CFD-codes) are described as well, but in less detail. 

The introduction of obstacles within unconfined vapor clouds produced flame acceleration. On a small scale, an array of vertical obstacles mounted on a single plate (60 X 60 cm) resulted in flame accelerations within the array (Van Wingerden and Zeeuwen 1983). Maximum flame speeds of 52 m/s for acetylene-air were found, versus 21 m/s in the absence of obstacles, over 30 cm of flame propagation. 

Experiments in tubes are not directly applicable to vapor cloud explosions. An overview of research in tubes is, however, included for historical reasons. An understanding of flame-acceleration mechanisms evolved from these experiments because this mechanism is very effective in tubes. 

Hjertager, B. H., K. Fuhre, S. J. Parker, and J. R. Bakke. 1984. Flame acceleration of propane-air in a large-scale obstructed tube. Progress in Astronautics and Aeronautics. 94 504-522. AIAA Inc., New York. 

Kjaldman, L., and R. Huhtanen. 1985. Simulation of flame acceleration in unconfined vapor cloud explosions. Research Report No. 357. Technical Research Centre of Finland. 

Marx, K. D., J. H. S. Lee, and J. C. Cummings. 1985. Modeling of flame acceleration in tubes with obstacles. Proc. of 11th IMACS World Congress on Simulation and Scientific Computation. 5 13-16. 

Immediately after this blast, a fire originated at the west end of B Module and erupted into a fireball along the west face. The fire spread quickly to neighboring portions of the platform. Approximately 20 minutes later, a major explosion happened due to the rupture of the Tartan gas riser. This occurrence caused a massive and prolonged high pressure jet of flames that generated intense heat. At about 10 50 PM, another immense blast occurred that was believed to be a result of the rupture of the MCP-01 gas riser. Debris from this explosion was projected up to 800 m. away from the platform. Structural deterioration at the level below Module B had begun. This failure was accelerated by a series of additional explosions. One of these eruptions was caused by the fracture of the Claymore gas riser. Eventually, the vast majority of the platform collapsed. 

WTien the relief device relieves, the explosion pressure falls off, but then it increases faster than in the beginning due to the opening of the relief when the flame front is distorted creating an acceleration of the combustion process [54]. Thus, there are two pressure peaks in the course of the relieving (1) at the activation of the relief device due to pressure buildup in the vessel, and (2) at the end of the combustion reaction. The first pressure is always greater than the second. The second pressure rise is created by turbulence during the venting process [54]. 

Oscillations of flame area induced by the acoustic acceleration [35-38]... 

The radius of curvature of flame is shown in Figure 6.1.7 as a function of the quenching distance (Figure 6.1.7a) and of the equivalence ratio (Figure 6.1.7b). The radius was determined from the flame pictures. For lean mixtures, the radius increases linearly with the channel width, both for the downward and upward propagating flames. For rich mixtures and downward propagation, the increase is linear for quenching distances up to Dq = 7 mm, but the increase is not as steep as that of lean mixtures. However, the increase accelerates. For rich... 

This chapter presents a physical description of the interaction of flames with fluids in rotating vessels. It covers the interplay of the flame with viscous boundary layers, secondary flows, vorticity, and angular momentum and focuses on the changes in the flame speed and quenching. There is also a short discussion of issues requiring further studies, in particular Coriolis acceleration effects, which remain a totally unknown territory on the map of flame studies. 

Initial shock-flame complex. A leading shock and turbulent flames (4 and 5) propagate together. Energy release leads to the acceleration of the leading shock and the flame. 

In Chapter 6.4, J. Chomiak and J. Jarosinski discuss the mechanism of flame propagation and quenching in a rofating cylindrical vessel. They explain the observed phenomenon of quenching in ferms of the formation of fhe so-called Ekman layers, which are responsible for the detachment of flames from the walls and the reduction of fheir width. Reduction of the flame speed with increasing angular velocity of rofation is explained in terms of free convection effects driven by centrifugal acceleration. 

Turbulence is required for the flame front to accelerate to the speeds required for a VCE otherwise, a flash fire will result. This turbulence is typically formed by the interaction between the flame front and obstacles such as process structures or equipment. Turbulence also results from material released explosively or via pressure jets. The blast effects produced by VCEs can vary greatly and are strongly dependent on flame speed. In most cases, the mode of flame propagation is deflagration. Under extraordinary conditions, a detonation with more severe blast effects might occur. In the absence of turbulence, under laminar or near-laminar conditions, flame speeds are too low to produce significant blast overpressure. In such a case, the cloud will merely bum as a flash fire. 

The TNT equivalency method also uses an overpressure curve that applies to point source detonations of TNT. Vapor cloud explosions (VCEs) are explosions that occur because of the release of flammable vapor over a large volume and are most commonly deflagrations. In addition, the method is unable to consider the effects of flame speed acceleration resulting from confinement. As a result, the overpressure curve for TNT tends to overpredict the overpressure near the VCE and to underpredict at distances away from the VCE. 

Research on water explosion inhibiting systems is providing an avenue of future protection possibilities against vapor cloud explosions. British Gas experimentation on the mitigation of explosions by water sprays, shows that flame speeds of an explosion may be reduced by this method. The British Gas research indicates that small droplet spray systems can act to reduce the rate of flame speed acceleration and therefore the consequential damage that could be produced. Normal water deluge systems appear to produce too large a droplet size to be effective in explosion flame speed retardation and may increase the air turbulence in the areas. 

Finally, there must be a flame acceleration mechanism, such as congested areas, within the flammable portion of the vapor cloud. The overpressures produced by a vapor cloud explosion are determined by the speed of flame propagation through the cloud. Objects in the flame pathway (such as congested areas of piping, process equipment, etc.) enhance vapor and flame turbulence. This turbulence results in a much faster flame speed which, in turn, can produce significant overpressures. Confinement that limits flame expansion, such as solid decks in tnulti-lcvc process structures, also increases flame speed. Without flame acceleration, a large fireball or flash fire can result, but not an explosion. 

The relative importance of these three mechanisms in NO formation and the total amount of prompt NO formed depend on conditions in the combustor. Acceleration of NO formation by nonequilibrium radical concentrations appears to be more important in non-premixed flames, in stirred reactors for lean conditions, and in low-pressure premixed flames, accounting for up to 80% of the total NO formation. Prompt NO formation by the hydrocarbon radical-molecular nitrogen mechanism is dominant in fuel-rich premixed hydrocarbon combustion and in hydrocarbon diffusion flames, accounting for greater than 50% of the total NO formation. Nitric oxide formation by the N20 mechanism increases in importance as the fuel-air ratio decreases, as the burned gas temperature decreases, or as pressure increases. The N20 mechanism is most important under conditions where the total NO formation rate is relatively low [1],... 

The behavior of confined flames differs considerably from that of unconfined flames. Acceleration of the gases, caused by confinement, results in the generation of shear stresses and turbulent motions, which decrease the influence of approach stream turbulence and the effect of chemical kinetic factors. How the implementation of the ABC and the PPDF method helps to obtain the experimentally observed flow patterns and to understand the mechanism of flame stabilization and blow-off is demonstrated in this section. 

Most importantly, the presence of lead compounds results in a strong acceleration of the fizz zone reactions, i. e., those in the gas phase close to the burning surface. Acceleration of the reactions in the subsequent dark zone or in the luminous flame zone is not significant. The net result of the fizz zone reaction rate acceleration is an increased heat feedback to the surface (e. g., by as much as 100 %), which produces super-rate burning. 

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