Mathematical modelling of dust explosions in interconnected vessels

This paper is devoted to the topic of dust explosions in connected vessels. This has gained much interest in recent years because of its safety applications and because of the new possibilities arising from the growth of computer simulations based on mathematical models. Modelling of such processes can be challenging: the equations are nonlinear and their numerical solution require good computational tools. In this research the Eulerian-Eulerian approach has been used for modelling the propagation of explosions from one vessel to another via a connecting duct, where the size of the particles and the height of the duct have been varied. It is shown that the point in time at which an explosion can occur in the secondary vessel is a function of the duct height: for bigger channels an explosion is more likely to occur, and will occur earlier. It is also a function of particle size, since the particles react differently to the pressure wave arising from the primary explosion, and also to the thermal gradient. The results of the simulation are supported by experimental results reported in literature. (C) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.