For the determination of safety characteristics of gases, vapors and dusts different types of ignition sources are used in international standards and guidelines. The paper presents test results of a comparative calorimetric and visual study between four different types of ignition sources. The ignition procedures were analyzed visually with a high-speed camera and electric recordings. In addition to that, the influence of the electrode-orientation, -distance as well as ignition energy on the reproducibility of the exploding wire igniter was tested.
The exploding wire is already in use for standardized determination of safety characteristics of gases, first tests on the suitability of the exploding wire igniter for dust testing have been carried out but are not standardized yet. Using the exploding wire, the ignition energy can be varied from 2 J to 10 000 J (2 x 5000 J) and thus it could be used for gases, vapors, dusts and hybrid mixtures. Moreover it can be used at high initial pressures and it is the only ignition source with an easily measurable ignition energy release. Furthermore, it does not introduce another chemical reaction into the system.
Finally, a proposal for a standard ignition source for explosion tests on hybrid mixtures is derived from the test results.
Entwicklungen zu Bestimmungsverfahren für sicherheitstechnische Kenngrössen hybrider Gemische
(2020)
Zur Bestimmung sicherheitstechnischer Kenngrößen (STK) von hybriden Gemischen (Gemisch aus mindestens zwei brennbaren Phasen, wie z.B. Staub/Gas- oder Gas/Dampf-Gemisch) existieren bislang keine einheitlichen, genormten Prüfmethoden. Die Normen und Regelwerke zur Bestimmung der STK von einphasigen brennbaren Systemen (Staub, Gas, Dampf) unterscheiden sich teilweise erheblich. Beispielsweise sind in den jeweiligen Normen für Stäube, Gase und Dämpfe unterschiedliche Zündquellen und Zündenergien definiert. Des Weiteren unterscheiden sich die in den Normen definierten Prüfabläufe bei der Gemischherstellung. Bei der Entwicklung einer einheitlichen Norm für hybride Gemische muss der Einfluss dieser beiden Parameter ermittelt werden, um die Vergleichbarkeit mit den STK der einzelnen Komponenten Gas, Staub und Dampf gewährleisten zu können und bisherige Erkenntnisse zu hybriden Gemischen interpretieren und bewerten zu können.
For the determination of safety characteristics of gases, vapors and dusts different types of ignition sources are used in international standards and guidelines. Table 1 compares technical relevant ignition sources with their main features. The paper presents test results of a comparative calorimetric and visual study between four different types of ignition sources. The ignition procedures were analyzed visually with a high-speed camera and electric recordings. In addition to that, the influence of the electrode-orientation, -distance as well as ignition energy on the reproducibility of the exploding wire igniter was tested.
The exploding wire is already in use for standardized determination of safety characteristics of gases, first tests on the suitability of the exploding wire igniter for dust testing have been carried out by Scheid et al. Using the exploding wire, the ignition energy can be varied from 2 to 10 000 J (2 x 5 000 J) and thus it could be used for gases, vapors, dusts and hybrid mixtures. Moreover it can be used at high initial pressures and it is the only ignition source with an easily measurable ignition energy release. Furthermore, it does not introduce another chemical reaction into the system.
Finally, a proposal for a standard ignition source for explosion tests on hybrid mixtures is derived from the test results.
Influence of pre-ignition pressure rise on safety characteristics of dusts and hybrid mixtures
(2021)
For the determination of the safety characteristics of dusts it is necessary to disperse the dust in the oxidating atmosphere (usually air). In the standard procedures for dusts this is realized by a partially evacuated explosion vessel (20L-sphere) in which the dust gets injected from a dust chamber pressurized with air. Shortly after that injection (60 ms) the dust cloud gets ignited under turbulent conditions, that are otherwise seen as almost ambient with 20 ◦C and about 1 bar (abs). While there has been a lot of research about the influence of the ignition delay time and the level of turbulence in the recent years little attention was paid to the pre–ignition pressure rise and the allowed variations in the standards. In the following work we showed that the allowed ranges for the pressures in the different dust standards influence the safety characteristics of dust alone severely.
Even though hybrid mixtures are an emerging risk problem in an interconnected industry there is no standard for the determination of their safety characteristics. In this work it is shown that especially for the preparation of hybrid mixtures of flammable dust and gas the pressures after injection of the dust and the mixing procedure have a large influence on the composition of the tested mixtures and therefore on the safety characteristics.
Considering both effects, wrong concentration of gas and wrong initial pressure, the discrepancy of safety characteristics from different facilities will be too big to applicable. The methods to overcome these weaknesses are also presented.
While developing a standard for the determination of safety characteristics for hybrid mixtures the authors discovered, that, beside the ignition source, the mixing procedure is the main difference between the single-phase standards for dusts and gases. The preparation of hybrid mixtures containing a flammable gas and a flammable dust in the 20 L-sphere can be realized in different ways. Either the flammable gas is filled only in the sphere or only in the dust container or in both. In previous works, almost always the first method is applied, without giving any information on the accuracy of the gas mixtures. In this work the accuracy of the gas mixtures and the results of the tests applying two methods of mixing were studied. No significant influence of the mixing method itself on the safety characteristics explosion pressure pex and the normalized rate of pressure rise (K-value) was found. Obviously, homogenization of the gas mixtures can be obtained sufficiently by the turbulence that is caused during the injection from the dust container into the explosion chamber within a short time. However, the mixing procedure has a great influence on the accuracy of the gas amount of the mixtures obtained. Without modifying the 20 L-sphere by installing precise pressure sensors, assuring its tightness and performing gas analysis, it must be expected, that the accuracy of the gas mixtures is very low. This has a significant influence on the measured safety characteristics and may lead to unsafe facilities or unnecessary expensive safety measures.
There is no applicable existing standard for the determination of safety characteristics for hybrid mixtures. While developing a new standard in a joint research project in Germany first results from parameter studies led to a standard procedure that can be adopted by laboratories that are already testing dusts in the so called 20L-sphere with as little additional effort as necessary. In fact, one of the main objectives of this research project was to keep modifications and adjustments from the generally accepted dust testing procedures as easy and minimal as possible so as to limit potential deviations from one laboratory to another.
In this first round robin test on hybrid mixtures ever, with methane as gas component and a specific corn starch as dust sample, the practicality of the whole procedure, the scattering of the results and the deviation between the testing apparatuses is investigated. This paper summarizes the experimental procedure adopted and objectives of the first round-robin phase involving three of the four original German companies, plus volunteering laboratories from Australia, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Poland and P.R. China. The results will have an impact on the new standard and may lead to robust data for later simulation purposes.
Several standardized ignition sources are used to determine the safety characteristics of gases, vapours and dusts. Standards indicate the source of ignition but vary in specifying other features such as the burning duration, energy or the volume in which the energy is released. Since heat is not visible under normal conditions, a schlieren technique was used to visualize the entire igniting volume and not just the flames. This article focuses on the igniting volume, compares it among the four standardized ignition sources and displays its relationship to the size of the test vessel. Differences in the ignition behaviour of the ignition sources might lead to the determination of erroneous safety characteristics and with that to the unsafe operation of processes.
The hybrid mixture of combustible dusts and flammable gases/vapours widely exist in various industries, including mining, petrochemical, metallurgical, textile and pharmaceutical. It may pose a higher explosion risk than gas/vapor or dust/mist explosions since the hybrid explosions can still be initiated even though both the gas and the dust concentration are lower than their lower explosion limit (LEL) values. Understanding the explosion threat of hybrid mixtures not only contributes to the inherent safety and sustainability of industrial process design, but promotes the efficiency of loss prevention and mitigation. To date, however, there is no test standard with reliable explosion criteria available to determine the safety parameters of all types of hybrid mixture explosions, nor the flame propagation and quenching mechanism or theoretical explanation behind these parameters. This review presents a state-of-the-art overview of the comprehensive understanding of hybrid mixture explosions mainly in an experimental study level; thereby, the main limitations and challenges to be faced are explored. The discussed main contents include the experimental measurement for the safety parameters of hybrid mixtures (i.e., explosion sensitivity and severity parameters) via typical test apparatuses, explosion regime and criterion of hybrid mixtures, the detailed flame propagation/quenching characteristics behind the explosion severities/sensitivities of hybrid mixtures. This work aims to summarize the essential basics of experimental studies, and to provide the perspectives based on the current research gaps to understand the explosion hazards of hybrid mixtures in-depth.
Acetylene pressure cylinders are widely used in the industrial sector for welding, flame cutting, or heating.
Sometimes during work, not only with acetylene cylinders, fires occur and in this case the risk of destruction increases and the behavior of such an exposed cylinder is unpredictable. The purpose of this study is to identify those critical conditions when acetylene cylinders burst and explode in fires. In the present study, acetylene cylinders were exposed to fire conditions. For this purpose, a woodpile as a source of fire was chosen, tested, and evaluated. In addition to the fire condition, this option guaranteed reproducibility and similar conditions for all tests. The individual cylinders were equipped with thermocouples measuring the shell temperature, and half of them were prepared in order to measure the temperatures inside the cylinder. An important factor was the measurement of the amount of pressure that was achieved during the destruction of the cylinder. For this purpose, a pressure transducer was attached to the outlet of the cylinder valve. Exposed to direct fire, they can explode in 10 min, which was confirmed. The critical pressure of 40 bar has been reached in 6 min, followed by destruction after 7 min in fire. Cylinders with internal thermocouples were destroyed when lower pressure was achieved. This confirms the fact that any change of the pressure cylinder affects the original properties. After the tests, the fragments of the selected cylinders were subjected to material tests. The results obtained in these tests are the main source of information for understanding the behavior of acetylene cylinders in fire and the possibility of increasing the safety of intervening rescue services in an emergency.
There are several standardized ignition sources in use for the determination of explosion characteristics of gases, vapors and dusts. In the standards the ignition source is stated, but they vary in stating other characteristics like burning duration, energy or burning volume. Since heat is not visible under normal circumstances a Schlieren-Technique was used to make the full heating volume and not just the flames visible.
While an earlier paper of the authors focused on the ignition energy and burning duration of four standardized ignition sources, this paper focuses on the initial igniting volume, the ratio between initial igniting volume and the test-vessel size and other phenomena that were observed with the Schlieren-Technique-.