Experimental study on pressure wave-induced explosion of different types of deposited coal dust

Abstract

When the gas explosion occurs in a coal mine, the pressure wave will induce coal dust (CD) to participate in the explosion reaction, which will further expand the accident and eventually cause more serious casualties. Based on this hazard, experiments were performed on three representative types of CD with the aid of a self-built experimental pipeline for gas/CD explosion. The explosion characteristics under the condition that pressure waves entrain different CD to participate in the explosion were studied. Furthermore, the influence of volatile content in CD on the compound explosion was analyzed from a microscopic perspective. The following beneficial conclusions were obtained: The overpressure peak value and the flame propagation velocity in the compound explosion are positively correlated with the volatile content in CD. Under those three conditions, the maximum overpressure is obtained at P2 position, and obvious stratification occurs in the process of flame propagation. However, compared with the other two working conditions, the average flame propagation speed of the composite explosion system with anthracite decreased by 51.2% and 52.6%, respectively, and flame surface breaks and becomes discontinuous earlier. After the explosion, the volatile content of three kinds of CD is significantly reduced, and the volatile content of lignite, bituminous coal and anthracite is 75.6%, 75.7% and 44.7% of the industrial analysis value of raw coal, respectively. With reference to the analysis on the microscopic test results, the amount of volatile gas decomposed from volatiles determines the intensity of the homogeneous reaction in the whole combustion process, while the coke formed after the reaction determines the intensity of the non-homogeneous reaction. Therefore, the volatile content in CD is a key factor affecting CD explosion. The research results provide an important scientific and theoretical basis for the prevention, control and reduction of CD explosion disasters.