An experimental investigation on explosion behaviors of syngas-air mixtures in a vessel with a large blockage ratio perforated plate

Explosions may occur in the presence of obstacles, which was not given enough considerations. In this study, an experimental study was conducted to investigate the influence of a perforated plate on the explosion characteristics of syngas-air mixtures in a constant volume vessel. The syngas, containing 50% H-2 and 50% CO, was selected as the test fuel. The maximum explosion pressure, heat loss to the vessel wall as well as the perforated plate, explosion time and deflagration index were examined. The turbulence enhancement factor, which was defined as the amplification of the burning velocity when a perforated plate was introduced, was also evaluated. The maximum explosion pressure was always decreased with a perforated plate due to the heat transferred to the obstacle. In addition, the maximum explosion pressure decreased as the distance between the obstacle and ignitor decreased. The heat loss to unit area of the obstacle was larger than that of the vessel walls. When a perforated plate existed, the explosion time was decreased. The maximum pressure rise rate could be affected by the obstacle in both positive and negative ways, depending on the blockage ratio and location of the perforated plate. Lastly, the turbulence enhancement factor was found to be up to 3 with a 0.99 blockage ratio.