Behavior of Flame Propagation in Circular Pipe and Quenching Ability of Flame Arrester

Abstract

Behavior of flame propagation and of quenching in a circular pipe were investigated to establish design criteria for a flame arrester.
Effects of ignition energy, sealing condition of pipe ends, pipe diameter and length on the behavior of flame propagation were studied. Among these factors, sealing condition of pipe ends and length showed significant effects on flame velocity.
Flame quenching experiments by wire gauze arrester showed that estimation of the flame velocity through the arrester was important in considering the quenching ability. It was concluded that the critical flame velocity should be estimated as a few meters per second for an open-end system, and a very high value for an in-line system. The arrester should be set near the ignition point where the flame propagates with low velocity.