LAUSR

Abstract When designing process facilities, it is necessary to minimise the potential severity of vapour cloud explosions. Previous research into explosion safety gaps at large scale has shown that the introduction of gaps in congested regions can significantly reduce the magnitude of an explosion. Optimisation of this gap is critical when controlling costs on facilities where space is at a premium, for example on floating structures. The present DOWSES (Development Of Water Spray Explosion Suppression) research programme extends the existing optimisation knowledge for safety gaps to those with water curtains installed in the gap. Introduction of water curtains in to the safety gap has the potential to allow congested regions to be closer together due to interaction of the water droplets and the explosion through various physical and thermodynamic processes. To establish the levels of interaction, the DOWSES project involves large scale baseline explosion experiments generating high pressures, followed by similar experiments with a water curtain introduced. This current paper includes results from a baseline experiment and some discussion of the potential for such an event to be mitigated by the presence of a water curtain. Results and discussion on the effects of water curtains will be published when the experiments have been completed.