Numerical Analysis of the Characteristics of Gas Explosion Process in Natural Gas Compartment of Utility Tunnel Using FLACS

Zexu Li, Jiansong Wu, Mingyu Liu, Yuntao Li and Qiuju Ma
Additional contact information
Zexu Li: School of Emergency Management and Safety Engineering, China University of Mining & Technology, Beijing 100083, China
Jiansong Wu: School of Emergency Management and Safety Engineering, China University of Mining & Technology, Beijing 100083, China
Mingyu Liu: School of Emergency Management and Safety Engineering, China University of Mining & Technology, Beijing 100083, China
Yuntao Li: College of safety and Ocean Engineering, China University of Petroleum, Beijing 102249, China
Qiuju Ma: School of Emergency Management and Safety Engineering, China University of Mining & Technology, Beijing 100083, China

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-14

Abstract: With the rapid urbanization in China, directly buried municipal pipelines have been gradually replaced by urban utility tunnels due to a serious shortage of urban underground spaces and weak disaster prevention of traditional municipal pipelines. The urban utility tunnels normally contain electricity pipelines, natural gas pipelines, heat pipelines, sewer pipelines, etc. If a natural gas pipeline leaks, a fire and explosion might occur and lead to serious consequences. In this study, the characteristics of gas explosion in a natural gas compartment of urban utility tunnel are investigated based on FLACS (Flame Acceleration Simulator) simulations. The results revealed that the flame profile undergoes two unstable flame stages. When the ignition position is set at the middle area (100.25, 1.2, 1.4 m) of the 200 m-long natural gas compartment, the maximum overpressure of the gas explosion in the 200 m-long natural gas compartment is 25.17 bar, which is the largest maximum overpressure under all gas explosion simulation setups. It is also found that the length of the natural gas compartment and different ignition positions have slight effects on the maximum overpressure. This study could provide technical support for structural strength design and division of the fireproofing area of the natural gas compartment in the utility tunnel, which is of great significance to improve urban safety during sustainable development.

Keywords: natural gas compartment; gas explosion; overpressure; FLACS; numerical analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/1/153/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/1/153/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2019:i:1:p:153-:d:301331

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().