Experimental Investigation on Rdx Initiating Methane-Air Mixtures Explosion in a Closed Pipeline

A series of experimental investigations of methane-air mixtures initiated by Hexogen (RDX) was performed based on a self-developed closed pipeline. The effects of incident shock wave intensity and methane concentration on the characteristics of methane explosion were studied. The results indicate that methane participating in the reaction can significantly increase the positive pressure duration compared with RDX explosion. With the increase of incident shock Mach number (Ma), methane deflagration pressure increases and counteracts the attenuation of RDX detonation pressure. When the ignition distance is 0cm, the methane concentration is positively correlated with the peak overpressure at each measuring point. When the concentration is 13vol%, methane explosion induced by RDX undergoes a brief detonation in the pipeline, with a peak overpressure of 2.6MPa. Under the close-in RDX initiation, methane with a large equivalent ratio in the pipeline has more enormous potential safety hazard.