Some Fundamentals of Explosions

The very real possibility of a deliberate or accidental failure in storage or supply lines carrying fuel is considered. A review of some fundamentals of explosions is undertaken. Topics include: fundamentals of explosions, types of explosions, combustion and chemistry of explosions, ignition, blast damage due to over-pressurization, procedure for estimating the over-pressure, and blast fragment missile damage. The emphasis is on understanding and applying the technical ideas in real-world situations. If the released material is toxic or flammable or explosive in nature, and this is extremely dangerous. If the ensuing cloud of released material comes in contact with an ignition source, and the fuel-air ratio is within flammability bounds, the resulting explosion and fire can often be devastating. The paper develops an understanding of explosion phenomena, develops an appreciation of the safety and loss prevention issues involved in the occurrence of explosions, and develops an ability to calculate useful information from empirical equations that describe the observed explosion phenomena, so permitting deductions to be made for other situations that are interpolated or extrapolated from a limited amount of experimental data.