Large-Scale Experiments and Absolute Detonability of Methane/Air Mixtures

The Gas Explosions Research Facility at Lake Lynn Experimental Mines was used to determine the detonability limit of methane for a 1-meter diameter tube as a function of the percent of methane in air. The measurements showed detonation limits of 5.3% (lean) and 15.6% (rich). A method for extrapolati...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Combustion science and technology 2015-01, Vol.187 (1-2), p.324-341
Main Authors: Oran, E. S., Gamezo, V. N., Zipf, R. K.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Absolute detonability
Chemistry
Coal mines
Coal mining
Combustion
Detonation
Detonation cell size
Explosion limits
Explosions
Fires
Flammability limits
Geometry
Law
Methane
Methane detonability
Methane-air explosions
Tubes
Tunnels (transportation)
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Summary:The Gas Explosions Research Facility at Lake Lynn Experimental Mines was used to determine the detonability limit of methane for a 1-meter diameter tube as a function of the percent of methane in air. The measurements showed detonation limits of 5.3% (lean) and 15.6% (rich). A method for extrapolating these limits to larger systems, more relevant to coal mine tunnels, was proposed based on a simple scaling law and some empirical information on the number of cells required for a detonation to propagate in closed, open, and partially open geometries. The scaling law reproduces the measured detonation-cell sizes measured in the 1-m tube. Applying this to a tunnel the size of a coal mine produces a detonability limit less than the currently measured flammability limit for methane/air at atmospheric conditions, which raises interesting questions for detonation and combustion theory and suggests measurements in larger tubes.
ISSN:0010-2202
1563-521X
DOI:10.1080/00102202.2014.976308