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

Details

• Personal Author:
  Gamezo VN ; Oran ES ; Zipf, R. Karl, Jr.
• Description:
  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. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Coal Coal Mining Explosions Methane Mining Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Absolute Detonability Coal-mining Detonation Cell Size Explosion Explosion Limits Explosive-gases Gases Measurement-equipment Methane-air Explosions Methane Detonability Methanes Tunneling Underground-mining

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• Series:
  Mining Publications
• ISSN:
  0010-2202
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  District of Columbia ; Maryland ; OSHA Region 3 ; Pennsylvania
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  OMSHR - Office of Mine Safety and Health Research
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  324-341
• Volume:
  187
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20045531
• Citation:
  Combust Sci and Technol 2015 Jan; 187(1-2):324-341
• Contact Point Address:
  E. S. Oran, Laboratory for Computational Physics and Fluid Dynamics, Naval Research Laboratory, 4555 Overlook Ave. SW, Washington, DC 20375
• Email:
  elaine.oran@gmail.com
• CAS Registry Number:
  Methane (CAS RN 74-82-8)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2015
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Combustion Science and Technology
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:fcc1155751e45e3a105b23eae06593ae59bb394f8237db28f9468d9a95682cb486fe04ede9644f9e8d89a9f2ca67e42f2d9272ba11dcd409a54ca5dfd2b6d108
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/228095/cdc_228095_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 728.97 KB ]