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Author
Essenhigh, R. H.
Title
Dust Explosions in Factories: Ignition Testing and Design of a New Inflammator.
Coporate
Safety in Mines Research Establishment, Sheffield, UK
Report
Research Report No. 188; U.D.C. 614.833.51:622.48, May 1960, 21 p.
Keywords
industrial plants | dust explosions | ignition testing | combustion | inflammator | investigations | ignition temperature | ignition limits | ignition energy | dispersion
Identifiers
design of an inflammator; investigation of operating conditions; effect of coil size
Abstract
In a review by Brown (1951) of the methods which are used for determining the inflammability of industrial dusts, the results were shown in many cases to be inconclusive. In particular, failure to ignite in a test did not necessarily denote non-inflammability. Since the relative orders of inflammability were different in the two principal methods of testing, it was not clear what combustion properties of the dusts were being examined. The results were dependent on the experimental conditions of operation. In this report, a new inflammator is described in which the results are less critically dependent on the operating conditions. It consists of a vertical glass tube of length 26 inches and diameter 3 inches. An air blast is used to disperse the dust and form a cloud near the top of the tube, and the cloud then falls under gravity past the igniting source, a hot coil, situated near the bottom.