Thermal radiation from vented dust explosions
Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries, 13 (6):
467--476 (November 2000)DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0950-4230(99)00079-0
Abstract
The fireball from a vented dust explosion presents a danger to personnel
who may be within the vicinity of the event. The risk of serious
injury to people caught within the fireball is great, and anyone
just outside the fireball may be at risk from thermal radiation.
This report describes a project in which the effects of thermal radiation
from vented dust explosions was studied. The aim was to establish
the areas around a fireball in which people would be at risk from
thermal radiation. Six dusts were tested in a large vented vessel
and external fireballs were generated under a range of conditions.
The fireball geometry and the heat flux from the fireball were studied.
A range of material samples were exposed to the fireball. The safe
areas around the fireballs were established for each of the six dusts.
Generally, the larger vent areas resulted in the larger fireballs
and high heat pulse values. However, the fireball was usually too
brief to ignite fabric samples unless they were very close to the
fireball. The work has shown that in most cases the safe area was
relatively close to the surface of the largest fireball.