Experimental investigations of the deflagration pressure attenuation using a water gel barrier in a vented explosion chamber

Experimental investigations were performed to examine deflagration pressure attenuation of a LPG-air mixture using a water gel barrier in an explosion chamber that is, 1400 mm in length, and has a square cross-section of 100 x 100mm2. Two independent variables were explored : the concentration of gel and the thickness of the water gel barrier. The gel concentration ranged from 10 % to 40 % with intervals of 10 % by weight of gel, and the thicknesses ranged from 10 mm to 25 mm with intervals of 5 mm. Displacement of the gel barrier was measured using a high-speed video camera, and pressure development was measured using pressure transducers and a data acquisition system. It was found that the displacement curve of the barrier displayed a similar trend as that of the pressure. It was also found that as the concentration and thickness of the gel barrier increased, the reduction percentage of the peak pressure also increased. This indicates the possibility of using gelatin gel as a deflagration pressure-reducing material.