Effects of mesh aluminium alloys and propane addition on the explosion-suppression characteristics of hydrogen-air mixture

Abstract Accidents involving hydrogen explosions occur frequently, yet systematic methods of explosion suppression have not been investigated and applied. Therefore, this paper studied the deflagration characteristics in hydrogen with the addition of propane in the tube filled with mesh aluminium alloys (MAAs). The effects of different propane contents and different filling densities (the mass of MAAs per unit volume in a vessel) on the explosion suppression of the premixed gas are examined. The results show that propane and MAAs can effectively suppress the hydrogen-air explosion. However, MAAs have multiple suppression/promotion effects on the propane-hydrogen explosion. Based on the mathematical model, the dominant effect of MAAs changes abruptly toward the promoting effect when the hydrogen content exceeds 72.26% of the premixed gas stoichiometric concentration. It is also found that an increase in filling density would have a beneficial effect on explosion suppression. The study results provide references for preventing hydrogen and hydrogenated hydrocarbon fuels explosions and optimizing the performance of MAAs.