INFLUENCE OF INITIAL AND EXPLOSION-INDUCED TURBULENCE ON DUST EXPLOSIONS IN LARGE VENTED SILO CELLS

The violence, or the rate, of a dust explosion is a deciding factor as to whether venting of the explosion will be effective. The turbulence of the dust cloud, initial as well as explosion-induced, plays a central role in determining the explosion violence. This was demonstrated in dust explosion experiments in large vented silo cells of 500 and 236 m3. In vented silo cells of LID greater-than-or-equal-to 6, explosion-induced turbulence can increase the explosion violence substantially. Further development of mathematical models for simulation of dust explosions in silo cells and other process equipment should be encouraged.