Large Eddy Simulation of Gas Explosion Phenomena

This paper reviews the most important advancements obtained by means of Safety Computational Fluid Dynamics (Safety CFD, SCFD) models based on the Large Eddy Simulation (LES) approach in the study of gas explosions at both laboratory and industrial scales. It is pointed out the central role of LES as the most adequate tool for describing the inherently unsteady interplay of flame propagation, flow field and geometry, associated to explosion phenomena. Some issues yet to be addressed are discussed as relevant to realize fully the potential of explosion LES. Gas explosions are complex phenomena involving several spatial and time scales as well as strong gradients of field variables (fluid density, velocity, pressure, temperature and chemical species concentration). In addition, they are characterized by the unsteady interaction between the propagating flame and the turbulent flow field induced by the presence of obstacles in the flame path (vessels, pipes, tanks, flow cross-section variations, instrumentations, etc.). The flame-turbulence interaction may lead to significant increase of flame speed and rate of pressure rise. It also modifies the flame structure. For such features, gas explosions are new phenomena in the field of turbulent combustion modeling. This justifies the development of new tools of Safety Computational Fluid Dynamics (Safety CFD, SCFD) modeling to take into account the dynamic interplay of chemical reaction, transport phenomena, flow field and geometry, associated to explosions. Thanks to the growing computational power and the availability of distributed computing algorithms, advanced SCFD models based on Large Eddy Simulation (LES) are emerging as useful methods for predicting and understanding gas explosions. LES offers an improved representation of turbulence, and the resulting flame-turbulence interaction, with respect to classical Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) approaches. Furthermore, LES captures the inherently unsteady nature of turbulent flows and, hence, of transient combustion phenomena such as explosions. In the following, we review the most important advancements obtained by means of SCFD models based on LES in both the research area and the applicative area. We also discuss some relevant issues yet to be addressed as relevant to realize fully the potential of explosion LES.

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