• Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.51-58
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• 2023

Determination of explosion reference pressure is important in designing and testing flameproof enclosures (Ex d). Although relative humidity affects to explosion pressure, its effect is not well investigated for the gas group IIB, IIA, and I. This study tested explosion pressure for Ethylene (8 vol.%), Propane (4.6 vol.%), and Methane (9.8 vol.%), which are the representative gas of the gas group IIB, IIA, and I, at ambient temperature and atmospheric pressure (1 atm) under different relative humidity (0% ~ 80%). Ethylene- and Propane-air mixed gases generally tended to decrease as the relative humidity increased; however, explosion pressure was largely dropped at 20% of relative humidity compared to 0% and 10% of relative humidity. On the other hand, Methane-air mixture gas showed similar pressures at 0% and 10% of relative humidity; but no explosion occurred at more than 20%. The results of this study can be used in setting a testing protocol of explosion reference pressure for designing and testing a flameproof enclosure.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.1-5
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• 2017

Leaking of natural gas, which is mostly methane, in a confined living space creates flammable atmosphere and gives rise to explosion accident. The minimum amount of leaked methane for explosion is highly dependent on the degree of mixing in the confined space. This paper proposes a method for estimating minimum amount of flammable gas for explosion by using Gaussian distribution explosion model(GDEM) and experimental explosion data. The explosion pressure in the confined space can be estimated by assuming the Gaussian distribution of flammable gas along the height of an enclosure and estimating the maximum amount of gas within flammable limits, combustion of the estimated gas with constant volume and adiabatic or isothermal mixing in the confined space. The predicted minimum gas amount for an explosion is tied to explosion pressure that results in a given building damage level. The result shows that very small amount of methane leaking in the confined space may results in a serious gas explosion accident. This result could be applied not only to setting the leak criteria for developing a gas safety appliance but also to accident investigating of explosion.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.32-37
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• 2012

The aim of this study is to evaluate the characteristics of explosion and flame velocity that can be utilized to factories where Mg-Al alloy metal powders are handled in the form of raw materials, products or by-product for similar dust explosion prevention and mitigation. Because the strength of the blast pressure is the result due to flame propagation, flame velocity in dust explosion can be utilized as a valuable information for damage prediction. An experimental investigation was carried out on the influences of content ratio of Mg-Al alloy (mean particle size distribution of 151 to 161 ${\mu}m$). And a model of flame propagation velocity based on the time to peak pressure and flame arrival time in dust explosion pressure, assuming the constant burning velocity, leads to a representation of flame velocity during dust explosion. As the results, the maximum flame velocity of Mg-Al(60:40 wt%), Mg-Al(50:50 wt%) and Mg-Al(40:60 wt%) was estimated 15.5, 18 and 15.2 m/s respectively, and also tend to change with content ratio of Mg-Al.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.62-68
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• 2017

It is necessary to analyze on the compressive strength among material properties of concrete for confirming damages of architectures due to large explosion. A non destructive test is known as the representative methods estimating compressive strength and ultrasonic pulse velocity, rebound hardness test are widely used because of their simplicity, convenience. But combined method supplementing two types is applied at now as they are affected by the characteristics of test specimen. In this research to check damages on the members of structure before and after explosion, the characteristics of compressive strength are compared and analyzed through a real explosion test prior to full scale structures. The test results showed that the larger the TNT powder and the shorter the distance, the greater the decrease in strength before and after the explosion and that the largest displacement and moment for the explosive load and the greatest decrease in the strength at the central part. Due to the surface condition and the thickness variation of the concrete specimens, the standard deviation value is the smallest in the combining method of fusion of the ultrasonic method and rebound hardness method. Thus, the combining method can be one of appropriate methods to evaluate the strength in the reinforced concrete structures damaged by the explosion.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.61 no.1
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• pp.80-88
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• 2023

Ensuring safety in the designing of manufacturing and handling facilities for low-density polyethylene (LDPE) is difficult because there are no standards for the dust explosion characteristics of LDPE. In this study, a dust explosion test was performed on two dust samples collected from a bag filter (LDPE 1) during the LDPE manufacturing process and sedimentary dust (LDPE 2) leaked outside a facility such as a silo, and the LDPE 2 explosion test results were summarized. Particle size analysis showed that the volume-based particle diameter (median) was 95.04 ㎛ and the number density was 0-1 ㎛. The maximum explosion pressure (P_max) was 6.6 bar, and the maximum rate of explosion pressure rise was 366 [bar/s] at 1500 g/m³. Accordingly, the dust explosion index (K_st) was 99.4 bar·m/s, which was confirmed as ST-1 grade. Moreover, the minimum ignition energy and minimum ignition temperature was 10 mJ and 450 ℃, respectively. Currently, manufacturing and handling design is based on the characteristic values of high-density polyethylene (HDPE). However, as the test results show that LDPE 2 dust has a higher risk than HDPE (particle diameter 61.6 ㎛), caution is required when using the HDPE design criteria in the LDPE manufacturing process.

• 한국연소학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2014.11a
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• pp.317-317
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• 2014

The structure performance of a sealed power facilities and the explosion simulation contains significant amounts of scatter, and variability has been characterized in material properties of the structure, a sealed space density, combustible gas volume, gas concentrativeness, ignition site, and gas volume. In order to deal with such uncertainties, structural reliability analysis calculates the failure probability and the reliability index relevant to selected limit states providing quantitative measures of these uncertainties. In this study, structure safety assessment method on the explosion of a sealed power facilities was proposed by using the response surface method (RSM).

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.7-11
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• 2007

There has been a report of fire and explosion accident in regenerated thermal oxidizer (RTO). This paper was to investigate accident causes of RTO in the resin re-treatment process. The experiments carried out physicochemical properties and thermal stability analyses by using flash point tester, flammable range apparatus, autoignition tester, GC/MSD and thermal screening unit. We inferred causes of fire and explosion from the regenerated thermal oxidizer to prevent an accident of its process.

• Journal of the Society of Disaster Information
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.44-59
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• 2020

This study analyzed a gas explosion accident. A gas smell from a underground coffee shop in the two-story building was reported to 119. A fire brigade was turned out, turned off the main valve of LPG gas cylinder on the roof, and checked the turning off of middle valve in the coffee shop. The fire brigade required a gas supplier and gas installer who arrived at the spot to take safety actions. Gas explosion occurred seven minutes after the fire brigade was withdrawn and two people died and 21 people were injured. A court decided that because the causes for gas explosion were not found, compensation responsibility could not be charged with the gas supplier, the gas installer, or Korea Gas Safety Corporation. In this reason, the court judged that only the fire brigade who was withdrawn without taking safety actions shall compensate victims or bereaved families. Therefore, fire brigades who turn out after a 119 report of a gas leak should take safety actions such as escaping people or preventing people's access and ventilating and be withdrawn when there is no possibility of fire or explosion.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.12-19
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• 2015

$CO_2$ is non-flammable, non-toxic gas and not cause of chemical explosion. However, various impurities and some oxides can be included in the captured $CO_2$ inevitably. While the $CO_2$ gas was temporarily stored, the pressure in a storage tank would be reached above 100bar. Therefore, the tank could occur a physical explosion due to the corrosion of vessel or uncertainty. Evaluating the intensity of explosion can be calculated by the TNT equivalent method generally used. To describe the physical explosion, it is assumed that the capacity of a $CO_2$ temporary container is about 100 tons. In this work, physical explosion damage in a $CO_2$ storage tank is estimated by using the Hopkinson's scaling law and the injury effect of human body caused by the explosion is assessed by the probit model.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.107-113
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• 1993

Small rectangular explosion chamber of its size 25cmX25cmX32cm with a circular bursting diaphram at the top was used to study the mechanism of gas explosion to fire transition phenomena, the process of ignition of solid combustibles during a gas explosion. To visulize the explosion to fire transition phenomena, transparent acryl window and high speed camera system were used. The test piece of solid combustible in this experiments was a 5cm$\times$5cm square sheet of newspaper which was placed in the explosion chamber filled with a LPG-air mixture. The mixture was ignited by an electric spark at the center of the chamber. Explosion to fire transition phenomena and the behavior of out flow and in flow of gas through the opening yielded by bursting the diaphram was visualized with shlieren system and without shlieren system. Diameter of a bursting dlaphram at the top of the explosion chamber was varied 5cm, 10cm, and 15cm, and the position of test piece were varied with 6 point. Explosion pressure was measured with strain type pressure transducer, and the weight difference of the test piece before and after each experimental run was measured. By comparing the weight difference of solid combustibles before and after the experiment and the behavior of out flow and inflow of gas after explosion, it was found that the possibility of ignition was depends on the LPG-air mixture concentration and the exposure period of test piece to the burnt gas. Test result of this experiments it was found that the main factor of this phenomena are that heat transfer to the test piece, and the pyrolysis reaction of test piece. Based on the results, the mechanism of the explosion to fire transition phenomena were inferred ; gas explosion- heat transfer to solid combustibiles ; pyrolysis reaction of solid combutibles : air inflow ; mixing of the pyroly gas with air ignition.