Influence of Different Bifurcation Angles on the Flame Propagation of Gas Explosions in Three-Way Bifurcated Pipes

[Image: see text] Exploring the flame propagation law in the process of gas explosion under different bifurcation angles is of great significance to the design of coal mine roadway and the prevention of gas explosion accidents. To study the variation of flame propagation law with bifurcation angle, an in-house experimental system based on a small scale three-way bifurcated pipe was developed to perform gas explosion experiments using mixtures of premixed methane-air with a methane concentration of 9.5%. Numerical simulations were conducted to study the propagation of the explosion flame. The results show that, (i) during the flame propagation process, the flame morphology evolves in the following manner: hemispherical, concave entrainment-deformation-flattening; (ii) in the case of gas explosion of three-way bifurcated pipes, there are significant differences in damage at different positions, and the damage at the pipe connection is the most serious. (iii) Although the parameters of the explosion flame in the bifurcated pipe exhibit similar trends across four different bifurcation angles, the values of the flame parameters obtained by the experiments and numerical simulations were not completely consistent. (iv) When the bifurcation angle is between the 45 and 75° bifurcation range, the area of the turbulent vortex formed by the air flow increases as the angle of the pipe widens. The research results analyze the propagation law of gas deflagration flame in the bifurcated pipeline, providing reference for the propagation mechanism of gas deflagration in underground bifurcated roadway and the formulation of prevention measures, which is conducive to preventing the propagation of gas explosion, reducing the intensity, and reducing the loss caused by gas explosion. However, large-scale tests are needed to determine the applicability of small-scale tests and calculations in this paper to full-scale mine conditions.