Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 26, 2026
08:35
Minimum Burning Pressures of Water-based Emulsion Explosives
Published on: October 31, 2017
Large vapour cloud explosions, with particular reference to that at Buncefield.
D Bradley1, G A Chamberlain, D D Drysdale
1School of Mechanical Engineering, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK. d.bradley@leeds.ac.uk
Summary
The Buncefield fuel storage explosion released significant energy, prompting an investigation into its severe, previously unassessed explosion mechanisms. Understanding these events is crucial for preventing future industrial accidents and improving safety planning.
Area of Science:
- Accident analysis
- Industrial safety
- Explosion mechanics
Background:
- Major accidents involve significant energy releases.
- The Buncefield incident was an unusually severe accidental explosion at a UK fuel storage site.
- A 300-tonne gasoline release preceded the explosion, highlighting risks in fuel storage facilities.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the Buncefield explosion's underlying mechanisms.
- To inform future prevention, mitigation, and land-use planning.
- To understand explosion severity beyond previous hazard assessments.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of damage and derivation of explosion over-pressures.
- Review of possible explosion mechanisms in light of other major incidents.
- Examination of evidence related to high-speed turbulent combustion and flame acceleration.
Main Results:
- The Buncefield explosion's severity exceeded prior assessments for such facilities.
- Identified key mechanisms including turbulent flame acceleration along natural barriers.
- Detailed analysis of explosion over-pressures and damage patterns.
Conclusions:
- Further research is needed to fully understand the explosion dynamics.
- Findings inform improved safety protocols for fuel storage and similar industrial sites.
- Understanding flame acceleration is critical for hazard mitigation.
Related Concept Videos
01:13Excess Pressure Inside a Drop and a Bubble
The shape of a small drop of liquid can be considered spherical, neglecting the effect of gravity. This drop can further be considered as two equal hemispherical drops put together due to surface tension. The forces acting on the spherical drop are due to the pressure of the liquid inside the drop, the pressure due to air outside the drop, and the force due to the surface tension acting on the two hemispherical drops.
02:41Constant Volume Calorimetry
Calorimeters are useful to determine the heat released or absorbed by a chemical reaction. Coffee cup calorimeters are designed to operate at constant (atmospheric) pressure and are convenient to measure heat flow (or enthalpy change) accompanying processes that occur in solution at constant pressure. A different type of calorimeter that operates at constant volume, colloquially known as a bomb calorimeter, is used to measure the energy produced by reactions that yield large amounts of heat and...
01:18Vaporization
The physical form of a substance changes by changing its temperature. For example, raising the temperature of a liquid causes the liquid to vaporize (convert into vapor). The process is called vaporization—a surface phenomenon. For vaporization to occur, kinetic energy must be greater than the intermolecular forces that keep molecules bonded. The amount of energy needed to vaporize a quantity of liquid at a given pressure and a constant temperature is called the heat of vaporization. When...
02:34Vapor Pressure
When a liquid vaporizes in a closed container, gas molecules cannot escape. As these gas phase molecules move randomly about, they will occasionally collide with the surface of the condensed phase, and in some cases, these collisions will result in the molecules re-entering the condensed phase. The change from the gas phase to the liquid is called condensation. When the rate of condensation becomes equal to the rate of vaporization, neither the amount of the liquid nor the amount of the vapor...
01:25Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy: Atomization Methods
Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS) atomizes samples through flame atomization or electrothermal atomization. Flame atomization typically involves a nebulizer and spray chamber assembly to combine the sample with a fuel–oxidant mixture, creating a fine aerosol mist that enters a burner. Typically, the fuel and oxidant are combined in an approximately stoichiometric ratio. However, for atoms that are easily oxidized, a fuel-rich mixture may be more advantageous. Only about 5% of the aerosol...
01:02Flame Photometry: Overview
Flame photometry, also known as flame emission spectrometry, is a technique used for the qualitative and quantitative analysis of elements present in a sample using a flame as the source of excitation energy. The concept of flame photometry was realized in the early 1860s by Kirchhoff and Bunsen, who discovered that specific elements emit characteristic radiation when excited in flames. The first instrument developed for this purpose was used to measure sodium (Na) in plant ash using a Bunsen...