Effects of mesh aluminium alloy and aluminium velvet on the explosion of H2/air,CH4/air and C2H2/air mixtures

MAA (mesh aluminium alloy) is one of the most widely used explosion suppression materials in military and civilian applications. To systematically research the effect of MAA on the explosion reactions of flammable gases, we investigated the effect of MAA and AV (aluminium velvet) on the explosion of hydrogen-air, methane-air and acetylene-air mixtures. The results indicated that MAA and AV suppress the methane-air mixture explosion but significantly promote the explosions of the hydrogen-air mixture and the acetylene-air mixture. MAA and AV have the dual effect of promoting and suppressing an explosion. In addition, with an increase in filling density, the promotion of MAA and AV first strengthens and then weakens. The results of this study show that the properties of flammable gas, not the shapes of the explosion suppression materials, determine whether the dominant effect of explosion suppression material is promotion or suppression. Use of explosion suppression materials is not suitable for all flammable gases, especially highly reactive chemical fuels. Applying explosion suppression materials blindly may greatly increase safety risk.