Report of Investigations 7196: Large-Scale Studies of Gas Detonations

Details

• Personal Author:
  Burgess, David S. ; Hanna, N. E. ; Murphy, John N. ; Van Dolah, R. W.
• Corporate Authors:
  United States. Bureau of Mines
• Description:
  The characteristics of gas-phase detonations were observed in 20 instrumented firings within earthen tunnels, in 100 such detonations in a 24 -in-diam by 163-ft-long steel pipe, and in about 200 smaller scale firings. Most of the fuels studied were representative hydrocarbons--acetylene, propane, gasoline, and a roughly equimolar mixture of methylacetylene, propadiene, and propane. In a pipe with two closed ends, the detonable limits were demonstrated to be very nearly the same as reported limits of flammability. The side-on impulses (pressures integrated over 200-msec intervals) were shown to be the same function of concentration regardless of whether deflagration or detonation had occurred. In a pipe with only the initiation end closed, the impulses of all fuel-air systems tended toward the same level when averaged over comparable ranges of fuel concentration; the lower pressures with saturated hydrocarbons were nearly compensated by longer durations of pressure transient. In all fuel-air systems, unexpectedly high impulses were obtained with slightly lean mixtures. In earthen confining structures, the impulse of the explosion was efficiently converted into momentum of the failing wall. In the configurations studied, an earth velocity of about 20 fps was critical to overcome the soil's resistance to shear. The destructive effect was determined by gas pressure rather than by total energy release. The assignment of a "TNT equivalent" to an explosive gas mixture is discussed in terms of the confinement of the mixture. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Explosions Explosive Agents Mining Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Explosive-gases Explosives Mining-industry
• Series:
  Mining Publications
• Subseries:
  Report of Investigations
• ISSN:
  1066-5552 (print)
• Publisher:
  United States. Bureau of Mines
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Case Report
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; Pennsylvania
• Rights:
  Public Domain
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  ERC - Explosives Research Center
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  59 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Brinkley, Stuart R. Jr.
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20036630
• Citation:
  Pittsburgh, PA: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Mines, RI 7196, 1968 Nov; :1-53
• CAS Registry Number:
  Acetylene (CAS RN 74-86-2) ; Propane (CAS RN 74-98-6) ; Propyne (CAS RN 74-99-7)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1969
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  Pittsburgh, PA: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Mines, RI 7196
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:afba3969127962e2caeb34a90e1e94cb884752389d1a0abd1784c20c51cb590a9e40d9f83801b0cfe6e278d153b5be989e09760d7921af0227a5a3ba41a0db51
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/202004/cdc_202004_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 3.46 MB ]