Introduction
Prevention of unwanted fires and gas explosion disastersrequires a knowledge of flammability characteristics (limits offlammability, ignition requirements, and burning rates) ofpertinent combustible gases and vapors likely to be encounteredunder various conditions of use (or misuse). Available data may notalways be adequate for use in a particular application since theymay have been obtained at a lower temperature and pressure than isencountered in practice. For example, the quantity of air that isrequired to decrease the combustible vapor concentration to a safelevel in a particular process carried out at 200°C should be basedon flammability data obtained at this temperature. When these arenot available, suitable approximations can be made to permit arealistic evaluation of the hazards associated with the processbeing considered; such approximations can serve as the basis fordesigning suitable safety devices for the protection of personneland equipment.
The purpose of this bulletin is to present a general review ofthe subject of flammability, and to supply select experimental dataand empirical rules on the flammability characteristics of variousfamilies of combustible gases and vapors in air and other oxidizingatmospheres. It contains what are believed to be the latest andmost reliable data for more than 200 combustibles of interest tothose concerned with the prevention of disastrous gas explosions.In addition, the empirical rules and graphs presented here can beused to predict similar data for other combustibles under a varietyof conditions. This bulletin supplements Bureau bulletins(40)N and other publications (158).
Basic knowledge of combustion is desirable for a thoroughunderstanding of the material, which can be found in numerouspublications (69, 199, 202). Therefore, only those aspects requiredfor an understanding of flammability are considered here; eventhese are considered from a fairly elementary viewpoint.
NItalicized numbers in parentheses refer to items inthe bibliography at the end of this report.
- Edition:
- 99
- Published:
- 01/01/1999
- ANSI:
- ANSI Approved
- Number of Pages:
- 216
- File Size:
- 1 file , 3.5 MB
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