A nonequilibrium model for large scale vapor explosions

A transient nonequilibrium model was developed to predict the integral behavior in a vapor explosion such as pressure history and explosion conversion ratio. The present study is the initial step in modeling the propagation phase of a vapor explosion. The model shows reasonable agreement with current data from vapor explosion experiments at Sandia. An initial parametric study indicates that the coolant mass in the explosion zone (vapor and liquid) has a small effect on the explosion conversion ratio and large effect on the pressure history. The explosion propagation velocity also was found to have an important effect