DUST EXPLOSIONS IN PIPES - A REVIEW

In long pipes, the aerodynamic conditions are very favourable to (dust ) flame acceleration and very severe explosions may result (as for ins tance in galleries of grain storage and handling facilities). The cons equences of such explosions are likely to be disastrous if, at the end of the acceleration process, the flame reaches the 'detonation' regim e for which overpressures of several tens of bars are possible. In thi s paper, it is primarily intended to present the actual state of knowl edge concerning dust flame acceleration in pipes and detonations. In a ddition to this qualitative information, a (critical) review of some c orrelations linking the geometrical configuration and properties of th e mixture to the 'violence' of dust explosions in pipes (maximum flame speed, maximum overpressure) is proposed. In conclusion an account of the means to prevent flame acceleration in pipes is given. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd