Experimental study on base-triggered explosions in molten-tin/water systems

The mechanism of explosions triggered at the bottom of a pool of liquid (i. e., base-triggered explosions) was experimentally investigated by dropping molten tin into water. We studied the effect of the tin temperature, the wa ter temperature, the water depth, and the distance between the walls at the bottom of the pool on the tendency for explosions to occur. The experiment al results showed that base-triggered explosions occurred at the bottom sur face of the tank when the water temperature was near its saturation tempera ture. The occurrence of base-triggered explosions was also affected by the water depth. According to the interaction at the base, the observed explosi ons could he classified into two types: instantaneous and delayed explosion s. The difference between the triggering mechanisms was explained by consid ering the homogeneous nucleation temperature of the water and the instantan eous interfacial temperature. The occurrence of delayed explosions was also affected by the distance between the side walls at the bottom of the pool. As the bottom surface area decreased, the tendency for base-triggered expl osion increased.