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Introduction and acknowledgments
Published in Anthony N. Penna, A History of Energy Flows, 2019
Initially, wildcatters and petroleum industry executives viewed natural gas as a waste product in the drilling for crude oil. Making the transition from manufactured gas to natural gas faced barriers related to investments in mines, buildings and infrastructure. Coal reserves, coal-gas plants, pipelines and local distribution centers, as well as the production and installation of gas appliances for households and commercial enterprises, added to the sunk costs of investors and owners. In addition, pipeline technology posed as a barrier to distribution. Gas explosions caused injuries, death and property damage. As the demand for natural gas grew, pipeline technology improved rapidly. Oxygen-acetylene welding to the joints of pipes, first used in 1911, prevented gas from leaking under high pressure and minimized explosions. The invention of seamless electrically welded pipe ensured a smooth pipe inside, accelerating the movement of natural gas from producer to distributor to customer. Technological breakthroughs signified the beginning of the end for manufactured gas.
Effects of Confined Space Flow Fields on Explosion and Hazard Analysis
Published in Combustion Science and Technology, 2023
Xiangchun Li, Huan Zhang, Chunli Yang, Yanli Liu, Chen Dong, Xinwei Ye, Suye Jia
The majority of the coal mining industry in China is dominated by well mining processes. From the five types of disaster associated to mining processes (gas, coal dust, water, fire, and roof collapse), gas disasters pose the greatest risk to miners (Liu 2015). A gas explosion is classified as a confined-space explosion that has a large propagation and impact area. Once a gas explosion occurs, it will cause significant damage to property and casualties. Xu, Zhang, and Zhao (2018) highlighted that coal mine gas accidents in China involving large gas explosions mainly occur in the coal mining area. Accident investigation results show that gas explosions in restricted tunnel space produce high temperatures and high pressure; shock waves, toxic and harmful gases, and high temperature fireball thermal radiation generated by gas explosions (Jing, Qiao, Wang 2009) result in significant damage to personnel and equipment. Researching flow fields and gas explosion characteristics in confined spaces can improve our understanding of conditions and influencing factors related to gas explosions, providing important information to prevent and reduce damage and loss associated to these disasters. With continuous technological advancement and the development of computational fluid mechanics and combustion, etc., numerical simulation has become an important method to recreate and study the process of a gas explosion. These advances play an important role in studying the law of gas explosions and disaster-causing mechanisms, as well as identifying more effective measures to suppress and control gas explosions, thereby effectively reducing and preventing future disasters.