Assessment and Control of Detonation Hazard of Silane-Containing Mixtures

Abstract

A formula for calculating the induction period of a silane–air gas mixture has been proposed. The dimension of a detonation cell and the energy of direct initiation of gaseous detonation were assessed. Consideration has been given to the issue of control of the parameters of detonation of silane-containing mixtures. The parameters of Chapman–Jouguet detonation, the relative dimension of the cell of a detonation wave, and also the parameters of explosion at constant pressure and volume in a stoichiometric silane–air gas mixture with additions of chemically inert microparticles (Al2O3) have been calculated. A series of experiments was conducted on measurement of the pressure profile resulting from the explosion of the silane–air mixture in a volume of cubic shape with the known average fuel–oxidant ratio. The distribution of the fuel during the silane jet flowing out into this volume was visualized. The distribution of silane in a cloud in its outflow into the cubically shaped volume and in a high-speed jet flowing out into an unbounded space was calculated. The performed investigations can be useful in evaluating the comparative efficiency of explosion of clouds of silane– and hydrocarbon–air mixtures.