STEAM EXPLOSION TRIGGERING - A REVIEW OF THEORETICAL AND EXPERIMENTALINVESTIGATIONS

This paper contains a review of the current state of knowledge of the triggering stage of a steam explosion. The data are summarised in the following four categories: (i) small-scale experiments; (ii) suppressi on of triggering; (iii) vapour film collapse models, and (iv) what has been learned from integral tests. It is concluded that whilst it is c urrently not possible to identify and model what actually happens duri ng the triggering event, there is a large body of empirical evidence a vailable from which the experienced worker can decide how likely it is that triggering will occur in any given situation.