Gaseous combustion at high pressures. Part VI.— The explosion of argon- and helium-diluted knall-gases

Abstract

In this paper are recorded the results of experiments made during the past year upon the explosion of argon- or helium-diluted hydrogen- and CO-knall-gases at various initial pressures between 10 and 150 atmospheres. Nearly all of these were made in our nickel-chrome-steel bomb No. 3 (spherical explosion chamber of 239 c. c. capacity), particulars of which were given in the previous paper of this series ( q. v. ), the only exception being four experiments, all at initial pressures below about 50 atmospheres,which were made in our nickel-steel bomb No. 2 (spherical explosion chamber of 242 c. c. capacity). Although in the course of these researches up to the end of 1924 we had carried out several experiments with argon-diluted CO-knall-gas at various initial pressures, chiefly for comparison with the corresponding nitrogen- diluted knall-gas, we had never been able to make any systematic comparisons between argon and helium-diluted knall-gases, through lack of sufficient helium for experiments at high initial pressures. Some time ago, through the kindness of Sir William Pope, we got a small supply of it, which enabled us to make a few preliminary experiments at initial pressures up to 50 atmospheres; but it was not until early in 1925, when we were presented by the U. S. Bureau of Mines in Washington, through the kindness of Dr. S. C. Lind, their chief chemist, with a cylinder containing 60 cubic feet of helium at a pressure of 45 atmospheres for the purpose of our experiments, that we were able to carry out the main part of our programme.