(10c) Numerical Modelling of Pressure Piling Using OpenFOAM

This study investigated the capability of the open-source OpenFOAM CFD toolbox to describe
the phenomenon of pressure piling in interconnected process vessels. Simulated explosion pressures
were validated by experimental data from the works of Lunn et al. [1], who investigated explosions
of coal dust in various configurations of linked vessels. Their coal dust explosion experiments were
performed in vessels with volumes ranging from 2 m3 to 20 m3. In order to reduce computational cost,
the geometries were scaled down by a factor of ten, which consequently scaled the volumes down
by a factor of a thousand. In no case did the simulated values exceed the maximum possible values
computed for the experimental data. This suggests that the simulated explosion pressures are within
reasonable and expected limits. Considering the spread of results expected from dust explosions, the
maximum reduced pressure (Pred), pre-compression (Pcomp), and the maximum explosion pressure
measured in the entire system (Pmax) simulated with the significantly scaled-down geometry are in
satisfactory agreement with the experimental data. The general trends in pressure piling seem to be
reproduced fairly well by the simulations. The OpenFOAM CFD toolbox provides a promising route
to accurately account for the complexities associated with pressure piling.