Investigation of a practical load model for a natural gas explosion in an unconfined space

Natural gas is extensively used as a clean energy source in cities and industries; consequently, there are associated risks of accidental explosions. To reduce the hazards associated with natural gas explosions, it is important to study the inherent laws of natural gas blast loads in unconfined spaces and establish load models. Using experiments on natural gas explosions in unconfined spaces, this study demonstrates the influence of natural gas concentrations, propagation distances, and gas volumes upon explosion loads. A new load model was proposed for the overpressure–time history curves of natural-gas explosions in an unconfined space. A comparison with the empirical model indicated that the predictive effect was superior to that of previous models, such as the TNT equivalent model and the TNO multi-energy model.