Experimental Study on Flameless Venting of Methane Explosions Under the Coupled Effects of Dual Vents and Porous Materials

Explosion venting is an important measure for mitigating gas explosion hazards in confined spaces; however, conventional venting processes often generate high speed, high temperature jet flames, leading to severe secondary hazards. To achieve flameless venting, an experimental study on methane explosions under the coupled effects of dual explosion vents and porous materials was conducted in a confined pipe. Porous silicon carbide foam ceramics with different pore densities (10, 20, and 25 PPI) were installed at the vent openings under various vent layout conditions. Combined with high-speed imaging and dynamic pressure measurements, the flame evolution, jet flame suppression, and explosion overpressure characteristics were systematically analyzed. The results indicate that porous materials effectively attenuate jet flame intensity without compromising venting efficiency and increasing pore density significantly enhances flame-quenching performance. In addition, explosion vents located closer to the ignition source facilitate earlier energy release, thereby improving the reliability of flameless venting.