Modeling flame propagation of micron-sized iron dust particles in media with spatially discrete sources

• A thermal model based on discrete dust combustion in 3D space has been generated.
• The goal is to study the flame propagation of micron-sized iron dust cloud.
• The model can be used to obtain better predictions of different aspects of dust explosions.
• With a rise in the particle size, the value of flame speed decreases.
• Minimum ignition energy tends to have lower values in rich dust concentrations.

In this study, an attempt has been made to investigate the flame propagation of micron-sized iron dust particles numerically in media with spatially discrete sources. A thermal model based on a diffusion-controlled regime of iron dust particles is generated to estimate the aspects of flame propagation in heterogeneous media. Flame propagation speed in various dust concentrations has been studied. Also in this case, obtained results for different particle diameters have been compared. Furthermore, flame speed as a function of particle size is investigated and a comparison between rich and stoichiometric dust concentrations has been made. Minimum ignition energy as a function of dust concentration for different particle sizes has been studied. The obtained results show a reasonable compatibility with the existing experimental data.