Any region of plant used in the production, distribution and storage of hydrocarbon fuels is typically congested by equipment and pipework, and some level of confinement by walls can exist. Hazard assessment of such environments requires the estimation of the explosion overpressure which can be generated from an ignited flammable gas release. Experimental data obtained on this subject have usually involved a full fill of the congested area with fuel-air mixture. There is a paucity of data on the effect of partially filling the plant area. This paper addresses this gap in the knowledge by describing a programme of explosion field tests of gas explosions in partially filled, unconfmed, congested environments and confined vented enclosures. The results are used to support the development and verification of physically-based mathematical models which predict the behaviour. The paper also examines the effect of obstacles close to the ignition source on the explosion overpressure.
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