Fire Safety Science Digital Archive

Equations developed previously, which related the maximum pressure in a vented dust explosion to the properties of the dust and the geometry of the explosion vessel, have been checked against further experimental data, and their theoretical basis has been extended. The following industrial plant systems were considered: vent ducting, a cyclone, and relatively large vessels with small vents. Attention was also paid to maximum rates of pressure rise in closed vessels of different volumes. The application of the equations to the plant systems was generally adequate and gave further insight into the processes involved in vented dust explosions. There is still a serious shortage of experimental data for dust explosion venting, requiring the continued use of unconfirmed basic assumptions.