Experimental Study on the Dynamic Strain of a Thin-Walled Pipe in the Gas Cloud Explosion with Ignition Energy

This paper describes an experimental study of the flame propagation mechanism for the combustible gas explosion in a closed pipe with a length of 12 m and an internal diameter of 0.125 m, which is carried out for different values of the ignition energy. The results show that an increase in the ignition energy results in greater explosive intensity, maximum peak pressure, and dynamic strain of the thin wall in the whole process. Moreover, the dynamic strain of the thin-walled pipe increases suddenly owing to arrival of a precursor shock wave and then vibrates for a long time, which is induced by the wave reflected back and forth. In addition, there is good agreement between the dynamic strain signals and pressure wave signals. These research results can provide a theoretical basis for industrial explosion accident assessments as well as explosion and shock resistance designs, which provides guidance not only for industrial safety, but also for prevention and mitigation of explosion accidents.