Dynamics of Pressure Variation in Closed Vessel Explosions of Diluted Fuel/Oxidant Mixtures

Nitrous oxide is widely used as oxidizer or nitriding agent in numerous industrial activities such as production of adipic acid and caprolactam and even for production of some semiconductors. Further, it is used as an additive in order to increase the power output of engines, and as an oxidizer in propulsion systems of rockets, because it has a large heat of formation (+81.6 kJ mol−1). N2O is highly exothermic, and during its decomposition a supplementary heat amount is released, so it needs special handling conditions. The combustion of fuels in nitrous oxide atmosphere can lead to high unstable and turbulent deflagrations that speedily self-accelerate and therefore a deflagration can change to a detonation. The peak explosion pressure and the maximum rate of pressure rise of explosions in confined spaces are key safety parameters to evaluate the hazard of processes running in closed vessels and for design of enclosures able to withstand explosions or of their vents used as relief devices. The present study reports some major explosion parameters such as the maximum (peak) explosion pressures pmax, explosion times θmax, maximum rates of pressure rise (dp/dt)max and severity factors KG for ethylene-nitrous oxide mixtures (lean and stoichiometric) diluted with various amounts of N2, at various initial pressures (p0 = 0.50–1.50 bar), in experiments performed in a spherical vessel centrally ignited by inductive-capacitive electric sparks. The influence of the initial pressure and composition on pmax, θmax and (dp/dt)max is discussed. The data are compared with similar values referring to ethylene-air mixtures measured in the same initial conditions. It was found that at identical C/O ratios with ethylene-air, ethylene-N2O-N2 mixtures develop higher explosion pressures and higher rates of pressure rise, due to the exothermic dissociation of N2O under flame conditions.