Runaway decomposition of dicumyl peroxide by open cell adiabatic testing at different initial conditions

• Open cell adiabatic experiments of DCP runaway thermal decomposition is presented.
• Sensitivity analysis of runaway parameters to experimental conditions is described.
• Initial back pressure influences temperature and pressure profiles vs time.
• Non-condensable gases generation is strongly sensitive to initial fill level.
• Gas generation rate in open cell is up to 2.3 times higher than in closed cell.

Low-thermal inertia experiments in the open cell configuration were carried out to perform a comprehensive sensitivity analysis of the parameters affecting the runaway self-decomposition of dicumyl peroxide (DCP). This study facilitates a better understanding on how concentration, initial back pressure, and fill level influence DCP runaway severity. The outcome of this experimental study was compared to previous adiabatic closed cell experiments, with the aim of clarifying the discrepancies reported in the literature and contributing to essential knowledge about self-decomposing peroxide systems.Results showed that the detected onset temperature, maximum temperature, maximum pressure, and time to maximum rate are affected by the configuration of the equipment and initial back pressure of the experiments, while the adiabatic temperature rise did not seem to be affected. The roles that the kinetics, fluid dynamics, and thermodynamics play on these observations is addressed and discussed through the manuscript.