Explosions in buildings: modeling and interpretation of real accidents

✍ Scribed by V.V Molkov

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1999
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 233 KB
• Volume: 33
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0379-7112
• DOI: 10.1016/s0379-7112(99)00003-x

✦ Synopsis

Real explosions in domestic structures (Rasbash and Stretch, Struct. Eng 1969;47;403}11) and industrial plants (Howard, Loss Prevention 1972;6;68}73) have been analyzed. De#agration dynamics are solved for enclosures of volumes of 130}8000 m for vent release overpressures in the range of 0}0.21 bar, and for di!erent inertia of covers over the venting spaces in the range 0}15 kg/m. From comparisons of the real explosion data with the modeling of pressuretime behavior during vented gaseous de#agrations according to an earlier lumped parameter theory values of the main parameter, a turbulence factor, , are obtained. The results suggest the combustion is highly turbulent for real conditions in domestic structures (turbulence factor *8 with discharge coe$cient "0.6) and especially in large-scale enclosures such as a plant, with internal obstacles (turbulence factor *17). On the basis of the devised e!ective turbulence factors (the ratio / ) the design procedures for avoiding the development of excessive overpressures during de#agrations, in both domestic and industrial plant, can be improved.