Effect analysis of branch location on explosion pressure in gas pipeline with T-branch

Abstract

Gas explosion presents a significant threat to people and equipment in a wide variety of processing industries continuously. In this study, different vertical branches are set up to analyze the effect of branch location on explosion pressure of propane/air mixture in a pipeline with T-branch. Based on experimental test and numerical simulation, the maximum pressure of horizontal branch is higher than that of vertical branch at the monitoring points of same distance from the ignition point, for a typical gas pipeline with horizontal and vertical branches of same length. As the vertical branch moves farther from the ignition point, the maximum pressure of the horizontal branch decreases gradually. The coupling result between the maximum pressure in pipeline and the vertical branch's distance shows a decreasing DoseResp function with Adj. R-Square of 0.95. The maximum slope of the DoseResp function is −0.0875 at point (5.144, 0.264), indicating that the most economic point with biggest reducing speed of explosion pressure locates at 5.144 m away from the potential explosion source. The effect analysis results of branch location on explosion pressure could aid the optimal layout design of gas pipeline, including requirement of high-pressure resistant material, location of vertical branch and reduction of economic cost.