Effect of low blockage ratio obstacle on explosion characteristic in methane/air mixture

Methane/air explosion is one of the common hazards in process and mining industries. In this study, the methane explosion propagation is studied, and two-dimensional configuration is considered. The gas phase equations are solved using an OpenFOAM code for compressible reacting flow, EXiFOAM. The effects of the low blockage ratio (LBR) obstacles are investigated. The results show that the flame propagation speed, flame structure, shock wave propagation, and gas flow are considerably affected by LBR obstacles. Specifically, the flame propagation speed first increases and then decreases. As the initial pressure increases, the flame propagation speed gradually increases. The maximum speed is up to 500 m/s, when the initial pressure is 1.5 MPa. If the flame propagation is prevented, resulting in the flame deformation. Moreover, the flame disruptive phenomenon is captured due to the reflected waves. In front of the obstacle, the cellular structures of the high-pressure distribution are formed. Note that the tiny cellular structures are produced in the wake of the leading shock. Furthermore, a high-speed flow region and two low-speed flow regions are produced around the LBR obstacles. It is found that as the initial pressure increases, the explosion pressure is larger, while the temperature change is not obvious. These research findings have implications for enhancing safety production in coal mines.