Deflagration to Detonation Transitions: Predicting DDTs in Hydrocarbon Explosions

摘要

Large quantities of hydrocarbons are being produced, manufactured, transported and stored in petrochemical industry worldwide, which can significantly increase the size and potential consequences of flammable vapor clouds in the event of release due to accidental loss of containment. One of the more devastating events upon ignition of large vapor clouds is if the flame transitions from a deflagration to a detonation in a region of considerable confinement or high object density. Deflagration to detonation transitions, otherwise known as DDTs, can possibly lead to explosion consequences orders of magnitude higher than their deflagration counterparts due to the severe overpressure associated with detonations, and more importantly, due to the potential contribution of the energy associated with flammable cloud outside of the congested and confined regions. In addition, recent accident investigations have concluded that DDTs did indeed occur during the explosion event and further enforce the need to identify under what circumstances DDTs can occur in petrochemical and process facilities.