Experimental study on flame propagation and pressure characteristics of corn starch explosion under airflow transport conditions

A self-built 2 m long air flow transport pipeline test device was used to carry out corn starch explosion experiments under different air flow velocities. Flame propagation behavior and pressure parameters were acquired through high-speed photography and pressure sensors. The experimental findings were employed to examine the influence of airflow velocity on the flame propagation behavior and explosion characteristics of cornstarch under various pneumatic transport conditions. The results indicate that, as airflow velocity increases, there is an initial increase followed by a subsequent decrease in the luminosity of the dust explosion flame, flame propagation speed, and maximum explosion pressure. An intriguing observation is the spiral-like propagation of flames towards the terminus of the pipeline. When the airflow velocity increased from 5 m/s to 10 m/s, the maximum flame propagation speed increased from 74.07 m/s to 89.51 m/s, and the maximum explosion pressure rose from 17.08 kPa to 23.42 kPa. When the air flow speed is increased to 15 m/s, the maximum flame propagation speed and explosion pressure decrease. The most significant effects were observed at a mass concentration of 300 g/m3, where the explosion pressure decreased by 41%, 500 g/m3 was the least affected and the explosion pressure is reduced by 7.4%. © 2024 Materials China. All rights reserved.