Theoretical and Experimental Study of Explosion Limits and the Inhibition of Flammable Refrigerants

In this study, we analyze factors affecting the explosion limits of flammable refrigerants. We conclude that any method used for measuring flammable refrigerant explosion limits has its conditional restrictions. Flammable refrigerants in the atmosphere can also explode under certain conditions, when the concentration is approaching the explosion limits. An experimental study on the explosion limits of six kinds of flammable refrigerants is carried out with a mixture of refrigerant and combustible refrigerant, which has a similar effect to a flame retardant. An experimental apparatus was designed to test the explosion limits of mixtures made from three different nonflammable refrigerants and six different flammable refrigerants. Two practical models were developed to estimate the critical concentration for inhibiting explosion of refrigerant mixtures: one was made up of two flammable components with one nonflammable component, and the second was made up of one flammable component with two nonflammable components.