Numerical simulation of dust explosions in pneumatic conveyors

Abstract

Dust conveyors are used in a wide range of industrial applications. Explosions can be transmitted through dust conveyors to different parts of a processing facility and thus can cause a large amount of damage. In order to study the evolution of dust explosions in such conveyors, a numerical model was developed which combines a front tracking method with a solver for the Euler equations. In this model the effects of the chemical reactions and of the flow turbulence were summarized in the turbulent burning velocity of the dust-air mixture. This approach results in a large reduction of the computational effort and thus allows to study the influence of parameter variations. Here results are presented for corn starch-air mixtures. The numerical model was first calibrated by comparison with one set of experimental data. The model was then tested by comparison with different experimental data and the sensitivity of the model parameters is discussed. Finally calculations were performed for different dust concentrations, flow velocities and tube lengths.