ABSTRACT

Following the ignition of a gas or vapour cloud there are two possible ways in which significant blast overpressures can develop. Firstly, if the explosion is contained by an enclosure, then the expanding gases can theoretically generate overpressures of up to 8 bar (800 kN/m2). However, in practice parts of the walls of such a structure would inevitably fail, thus reducing the confinement and limiting the pressure build-up. Such events are known as confined vented explosions (Figure 1).