Flame propagation and CO/CO2 generation characteristics of lignite dust explosion in horizontal pipeline

To reveal the flame propagation and CO/CO2 generation characteristics of coal dust explosion, lignite dust cloud is studied through experiment and numerical simulation in a horizontal pipeline apparatus. The result indicated that within 0.5 s after explosion, the flame propagation distance rapidly increases until the explosion reaction is sufficient. FLUENT is used to simulate the flame propagation and CO/CO2 generation characteristics. It is found that the simulation error is acceptable and the simulation result is consistent with the experimental result. The explosion space is divided into five zones by simulating the flame temperature. It also revealed that z = 0.3 similar to 0.6 m in the pipeline generates more CO because it is closed to the ignition zone. As the explosion spreads through the pipeline, the generated CO accumulates to the bottom of the pipeline, and the generated CO2 accumulates more in the upper part of the pipeline.