WG 8 - Determination of static equivalent pressures of gas phase detonations in pipes and vessels
The scope includes the development of documents for process plants in which the occurrence of potentially detonable gas mixtures in pipelines and vessels and at the same time effective ignition sources cannot be excluded. This includes, for example, systems for water electrolysis, where the occurrence of flammable H2+O2 mixtures cannot be ruled out in the event of deviations from target operation. In systems for the transportation of hydrogen, H2/air mixtures can also occur in the event of incorrect air intake, which can also react detonatively after ignition. Under the above-mentioned boundary conditions (potential detonable gas mixtures and ignition sources present), the only possible protection concept according to the current explosion protection regulations is the intrinsically safe design of the pipelines or vessels. This means that the wall thicknesses of the pipelines or other containments must be dimensioned in such a way that under all conceivable process conditions (initial pressure, initial temperature, composition of the gas mixture, geometry of the pipeline/containment) the installations can withstand the pressures of shock waves that can occur in different possible detonative, not only deflagrative, pressure scenarios. In order to be able to design this dimensioning economically, a reliable and validated, standardized procedure for determining the static equivalent pressures that can be used in industrial practice is required. With this method, the oversized design of wall thicknesses due to a lack of knowledge about the pressure development can be avoided.
Determination of static equivalent pressures of gas phase detonations in pipes and vessels
The scope includes the development of documents for process plants in which the occurrence of potentially detonable gas mixtures in pipelines and vessels and at the same time effective ignition sources cannot be excluded. This includes, for example, systems for water electrolysis, where the occurrence of flammable H2+O2 mixtures cannot be ruled out in the event of deviations from target operation. In systems for the transportation of hydrogen, H2/air mixtures can also occur in the event of incorrect air intake, which can also react detonatively after ignition. Under the above-mentioned boundary conditions (potential detonable gas mixtures and ignition sources present), the only possible protection concept according to the current explosion protection regulations is the intrinsically safe design of the pipelines or vessels. This means that the wall thicknesses of the pipelines or other containments must be dimensioned in such a way that under all conceivable process conditions (initial pressure, initial temperature, composition of the gas mixture, geometry of the pipeline/containment) the installations can withstand the pressures of shock waves that can occur in different possible detonative, not only deflagrative, pressure scenarios. In order to be able to design this dimensioning economically, a reliable and validated, standardized procedure for determining the static equivalent pressures that can be used in industrial practice is required. With this method, the oversized design of wall thicknesses due to a lack of knowledge about the pressure development can be avoided.