3 ms·

Can you elaborate what "upper and lower explosive limits" are, please. Also I don't understnd how it could be explosive at all, sudden oxidation of large (that

Can you elaborate what "upper and lower explosive limits" are, please. Also I don't understnd how it could be explosive at all, sudden oxidation of large (that is, low surface area to volume), non-dry particles seems unlikely. Flour etc. may be another matter, but a blast like this... flour?

throwaway0a5e 6y ago
>upper and lower explosive limits concentration of the fuel in otherwise normal atmospheric air required to go whoosh (or bang, which is basically just a really fast woosh or one that's constrained by something). Too much fuel, too rich, no woosh. Too little fuel, too lean, no woosh. Lower and upper explosive limits are generally used to refer to gas mixtures though you can use them for solids but the units will be different. Solids we think of as explosive when not fishing around for virtue points on the internet generally contain their own oxygen supply so lower and upper explosive limit doesn't apply. >sudden oxidation of large (that is, low surface area to volume), non-dry particles seems unlikely. Flour etc. may be another matter, but a blast like this... flour? Yeah, no way that secondary explosion is flour or grain. I'd put my money on some sort of industrial chemical that contains its own oxidizer. Explosions that use atmospheric oxygen look different and rarely manage to be able to build up that kind of shock-wave if not constrained by something (like a building). There should be videos of natural gas explosions on YouTube that illustrate the difference.
TimSchumann 6y ago
Most grain elevators have incredibly large quantities of dust (basically flour) lying around, it's just unavoidable when you're moving that much grain around. If it's too dry, there's a risk of static/friction/electrical ignition. If it gets wet, you can have anaerobic bacteria build up heat in a compartment that, when exposed to oxygen, ignites. Grew up on a farm, have a fair bit of experience messing around with grain bins. Our local elevator had a fire due to the former condition, and our neighbor's barn burned down due to the latter.

throwaway0a5e 6y ago

>upper and lower explosive limits concentration of the fuel in otherwise normal atmospheric air required to go whoosh (or bang, which is basically just a really fast woosh or one that's constrained by something). Too much fuel, too rich, no woosh. Too little fuel, too lean, no woosh. Lower and upper explosive limits are generally used to refer to gas mixtures though you can use them for solids but the units will be different. Solids we think of as explosive when not fishing around for virtue points on the internet generally contain their own oxygen supply so lower and upper explosive limit doesn't apply. >sudden oxidation of large (that is, low surface area to volume), non-dry particles seems unlikely. Flour etc. may be another matter, but a blast like this... flour? Yeah, no way that secondary explosion is flour or grain. I'd put my money on some sort of industrial chemical that contains its own oxidizer. Explosions that use atmospheric oxygen look different and rarely manage to be able to build up that kind of shock-wave if not constrained by something (like a building). There should be videos of natural gas explosions on YouTube that illustrate the difference.

TimSchumann 6y ago

Most grain elevators have incredibly large quantities of dust (basically flour) lying around, it's just unavoidable when you're moving that much grain around. If it's too dry, there's a risk of static/friction/electrical ignition. If it gets wet, you can have anaerobic bacteria build up heat in a compartment that, when exposed to oxygen, ignites. Grew up on a farm, have a fair bit of experience messing around with grain bins. Our local elevator had a fire due to the former condition, and our neighbor's barn burned down due to the latter.