Comparative study of flame propagation characteristics of methane explosion in pipeline with different venting structures at different ignition positions

Abstract

The effect of central ignition and four types of explosion vents (circular vents with areas of 22.89, 15.20, and 9.07 cm2 and a cross-shaped vent with an area of 15.20 cm2) on the flame propagation of methane explosions was investigated by using a rectangular blast pipe system and analyzed in comparison with the closed-end ignition condition. Central ignition shows that the flame propagation velocity on both sides of the pipe increases and decreases. The peak pressure decreases as the vent area increases. Specifically, Pm (9.07 cm2) > Pm (15.20 cm2) > Pm (22.89 cm2). The flame temperature at the closed end was consistently higher than that at the vented end. The vm values in the closed-end ignition pipe increased by 20.0 %, 41.8 %, 45.8 %, 40.9 %, 31.5 %, and 19.0 %, respectively, over the central ignition position when the methane concentration was 8–13 %. When the methane concentration deviates from the stoichiometric ratio, the difference in peak pressure between closed-end and central ignition can be up to 0.15 MPa, which is 26.7 % of that of central ignition. The peak temperatures observed at points 1–2 in the closed-end ignition were consistently higher than the central ignition.