Confined Gas and Dust Explosions

Hot combustion products may produce structural damage to confined industrial equipment and buildings due to their expansion. However, the sole thermochemistry is not adequate for the complete definition of the explosion. The knowledge of the kinetic of reactions, the understanding of the synergistic interaction between turbulence and combustion, and the likelihood of transition to extreme events such as detonation, are the necessary steps for engineering purposes, and in particular for the sound design of prevention and protective measures.This article examines the fundamentals of explosion and analyzes the most important safety parameters needed for the prediction, prevention, and mitigation of gas and dust explosions in confined and partially confined industrial equipments and buildings, in light of more recent advances in combustion science. © 2014 Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.