Friday, October 31, 2014

Overview About The Detonation Arrestor

By Young Lindsay


Basically, hydrocarbons are flammable but the levels in which they burn can be figured and calculated and thus it may be controlled as well with the appropriate ratio of it mixed in with air. With this in mind, combustion may be stopped depending on the environment it is in. This process may be called as deflagration which means burning down the flames.

A lot of industries needs to have more control and safety when it comes to managing hazardous liquids and flammable materials. Because of the Clean Air Act of the USA, industries are required to minimize the combustions of gasses in order to maintain the safety of both the environment and the people. That is why detonation arrestor is invented.

It was on 1990 when Nicholas Roussakis invented this Flame Arrester or Arrestor. The initial mechanism for this was to burn down the combustion or ignition within a pipe or tank so that it would not go through anymore towards the source of the gas. This prevents any explosion from occurring, although this one is different with the detonator and is actually a innovation from the initial invention.

For the detonation, it is built in order to manage high pressures like 1,500 psi or 10 MPa and that it travels through the pipes in a supersonic speed which is about 2,500 meters per second. Generally this works by placing this device in between pipes to make a demarcation in cases of ignition on either side and to stop it from further burning. Although it still allows flow of the gas between the two sides.

This is a passive device so there are no moving parts inside it and should be working once it is installed. Inside it is composed of many layers of metallic ribbons that has crimped corrugations. This allows the travel of gas to flow but combustion to stop at certain levels.

The compression of these corrugations are studied in accordance to the Upper Explosive Limit and the Lower Explosive Limit of hydrocarbons that are usually being used. Laboratory tests have revealed composition percentages in the ratio between the air and the hydrocarbons. This finds out as to what levels would it allow to combust or not.

The LEL is the first start of the hydrocarbon and air composition where it starts small and increase and up to which percentage it would begin burning, while the UEL is the percentage to which it stops after increasing it further. So the air and the hydrocarbon percentage would be recorded appropriately depending on which point it burns and stops. With these calculations, the arrestor is made according to it.

For example, Methane gas is shown to have five percent of its Lower Explosive Limit. Therefore, at five percent methane as to ninety five percent air, it would start to combust already. While at fifteen percent methane composition with eighty five percent of the air, it would then start to stop burning. Although there are some gasses that require no oxygen at all for them to combust.

These gases are highly dangerous when they are not controlled and contained appropriately and if there is no backup or safety precautions in cases of incidents. That is why this was invented to protect the people inside who are working as well as the environment. This is called a vapor control system for most of these industries.




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