Heat Transfer Considerations on the Spontaneous Triggering of Vapor Explosions—A Review

Vapor explosions have been investigated both theoretically and experimentally for several decades, focusing either on the vapor film, or on mechanical aspects. Where the main interest for industry lies in the safety risks of such an event, fundamental research is focusing on all partial processes th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Metals (Basel ) 2021-01, Vol.11 (1), p.55
Main Authors: Simons, Arne, Bellemans, Inge, Crivits, Tijl, Verbeken, Kim
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aluminum
Chemical reactions
Experiments
Explosions
Heat transfer
Hot surfaces
Hypotheses
Knowledge management
Literature reviews
material properties
melt-coolant interactions
vapor explosions
Vapors
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Summary:Vapor explosions have been investigated both theoretically and experimentally for several decades, focusing either on the vapor film, or on mechanical aspects. Where the main interest for industry lies in the safety risks of such an event, fundamental research is focusing on all partial processes that occur during a vapor explosion. In this paper, vapor explosions are discussed from a heat transfer point of view. Generally accepted knowledge of heat transfer between hot surfaces and liquids is compared to early investigations regarding the origin of vapor explosions. Both steady state and transient models are discussed. The review of available literature suggests that vapor explosions trigger spontaneously by the collapse of the boiling film. Better understanding of the fundamental aspects of vapor explosions might give rise to future ideas on how to avoid them.
ISSN:2075-4701
2075-4701
DOI:10.3390/met11010055